Every generation has spiritual battles that have the potential to be history changing. In June of this year the Supreme Court handed down a few decisions that touch on what I believe is one of those battles. The court overturned Roe vs Wade and ruled in favor of Kennedy in Kennedy vs Bremerton School District. The Kennedy ruling was somewhat overshadowed by the Roe vs Wade ruling and that is what prompted me to write this article. In order to fully understand the significance we must look at the original ruling. In 1962 the court ruled in favor of Madeline Murry and said that no government funded entity could mandate prayer or Bible reading to any person during school functions. Before this ruling public prayer and Bible based concepts were commonly used in public schools.
Before 1962, the biggest problems the public school systems were having been chewing gum in class and kids blowing spit balls at their teachers. A few things that resulted were very interesting to look at after this ruling. The ruling essentially legally gutted prayer from public schools and for the next fifty years American school systems declined drastically. Now schools are war zones, drugs and under age alcohol usage are the norm, homosexual normalization now starts at five years old, teen suicide has lost more lives than all the American combat casualties in Vietnam and the quality of education, according to test scores, has dropped significantly, some districts to third world country levels. The other significant thing is that this ruling also influenced corporate policy for America for the next fifty years. In other words, the most powerful tool a Christian has, which is prayer, was stopped and fear of retribution took root in the church in a broad cultural way, essentially dismantling the power of broad public prayer in America.
The prophet Daniel was faced with this situation, as well. I think the modern church can learn some valuable lessons from his story. The entire story is found in the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel. He was taken as a captive from Israel as a teenager, placed in the king of Babylon’s court, and groomed as a next generation leader to appease the captive population. God gave Daniel so much favor and grace that he was promoted above all of his peers and basically became the top dog in the ruling world government. Throughout his time in service he never turned his back on God. He put God first and always inquired of God and gave God the credit for his success.
In chapter six some governors and leaders became jealous of him and sought to trap him in some way in order to usurp and take his place. The scriptures say that they could not find anything against him because he had an excellent spirit. They went to the king and persuaded him to make a law that no one could pray to anyone but the king for thirty days or they would be thrown into the lion’s den. They got the king to seal the decree with the official ring to make it irreversible. Daniel heard about the ruling and the scripture says he went to his room and opened the windows and prayed three times that day. The modern church must have the same courage to stand up boldly, for the things of God, in this generation.
I must note that Daniel was a high profile government official. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind,” 2 Timothy 1:7. I have been confronted and even detained for preaching the gospel by solders in Nigeria and Ghana and by the Taliban in Pakistan. God gave me a supernatural unction to stand firm in those moments. Friends, I believe the church in America must have the same courage that Daniel did, or we will find ourselves losing the freedoms that we now have.
Daniel didn’t get mad at the King or the people who attacked him. Instead, he prayed to God and God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions, Daniel 6:22. Daniel knew his battle was a spiritual one. We are not fighting with others about racial issues or political issues. What is happening in America at its core is spiritual decay. Ephesians 6:12 tells us we are not fighting a natural battle, but a spiritual one. We fight these battles by prayer. Why do you think that the right to preach the Word of God or to pray has been fought against so hard? This battle has been against Baal worship and Molech, the deity of child sacrifice. This is why there must be modern day Daniels in the 7 mountains of society. When the church stands in its authority and occupies the territory, the culture shifts for light. When the church retreats, the culture gets darker. I would encourage you not to protest without praying or you could cause problems. Don’t vote without praying or you might help elect the wrong person. When we let God fight our battles, we will win. He has not lost a battle yet!
“When prayer decays, revival delays.” Charles Spurgeon.
What you must understand is that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies as we prayerfully stand for Him. Psalm 23:5 He specializes in turning things around for our good. Instead of Daniel getting eaten by a lion, he encountered the Lion of the tribe of Judah. God delivered him, destroyed his enemies and their families and promoted Daniel and his God all throughout the known world. Instead of being illegal to pray, the king reversed his decision and made prayer and God a part of the culture. I believe God wants to do the same today. The Supreme Court ruling for Kennedy has made public prayer legal for individuals again and made it legal to pray with anyone that wants to pray with you in a public setting. Students, staff, parents, police or anyone willing to pray with you, can now, without fear of losing their job, getting sued, or thrown into the proverbial lion’s den.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19
I believe America is at a kiros moment. God is going to release the greatest wave of glory this nation has ever seen. If the church will occupy in this hour, I believe the greatest youth revival America has ever seen in our generation will take place. If the church will take these keys and use them in their communities our American youth will be turned around. How will you help? Where will you occupy? What will you do? I ask for you to share this article with your family, friends and church members. This is a 911 call to the church!
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-418_i425.pdf
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf
About the Author
After being radically saved from 10 years of drug and occult involvement in a bar through a Damascus road experience, Shawn Patrick received a burning commission to evangelize the United States and the world. His style of preaching brings a revival culture to the Body of Christ. His personal experience of the power of the Holy Spirit, powerful deliverance from addiction and the occult, and background has aided in giving him a platform to speak to the next generation of Believers. His passion is revival fire and seeing Christ saves lives. In 2002 he and his wife Christy founded Warrior Nations Intl. Ministries. He has preached in 30 nations and 20 denominations. In 2007 he launched the One Hour prayer alliance which is a muti-denominational prayer effort. He has a Doctor of Divinity from Day Spring University and was ordained as a bishop in 2009. He then launched Warrior Nations Fellowship, which is a ministerial network. He is a founder of the ministry training centers called i3, which is his base in Greenwood, SC.
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