Phil Maness

A photo I took from our ship. The light was just majestic. (Coast of Norway, 2026).

Good Morning, You are cordially invited to join me for a daily scripture break. James 5:16: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” This verse offers some very plain instruction for individual spiritual warriors who must cultivate and befriend a circle of believers within your sphere of influence (where you work and live).  This verse encourages us to have other believers in whom you can trust to share our challenges and pray for one another.  As we studied in a previous post, we are asked to confess all of our sins to the Lord (not just most of our sin) in order to obtain forgiveness from God. Why is that important? When you are obedient to "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”  In the spiritual world, you have become a strong formidable spiritual warrior.  You have exchanged the your “old nature” and assumed Jesus’ righteousness.  And thus “the prayer of a righteous person is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE.”  Just think of it - the righteousness of Jesus is the source of the power and effectiveness of our prayers.  That’s why confessing just some of your sins is so detrimental because it impedes the power and effectiveness of your prayer.  I can hear your questions - how is it possible Christians (flawed human beings) can assume the righteousness of our Lord and Savior? Let’s examine the Word of God. In I Corinthians 1:30, it says, "It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”  Also II Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” With this incredible gift of Jesus’ righteousness we are now equipped as spiritual warriors to go and fulfill our spiritual calling. Where do we start? Today we will explore praying for your community and nation.  We often hear in our conversations that we should pray for our local, state, and national governments. How do we do that?  Here are some suggestions to begin your daily commitment to serve the Kingdom of God as a spiritual warrior. I strongly urge you to take up this mantle; the survival of our nation is on line. I’d like to present 6 concrete actions we can do to begin our journey. 1. Pray the scriptures to God. Sometimes you don’t know the exact words you should use to pray about a specific circumstance. If you can find a scripture that addresses your situation then pray that scripture back to the Lord; that’s a great option.  He certainly honors His own Word. Here are a few examples on how to pray on behalf of our nation; fill in your specific petitions. a. Daniel 9:17-19 - “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For Your sake, Lord, look with favor on Your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” b.  Psalm 33:6-12 - "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. 2. Ask the Holy Spirit how to specifically pray - create a list of specific petitions (ie. the ills of our nation.) a. Romans 8:26 - "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” b. Psalm 139:23-24 - "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." 3. Offer prayers to frequently seek forgiveness on behalf of the nation and ask God for righteous leaders. a. Proverbs 11:14 - “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers." b. Proverbs 14:34 - “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people." c. II Chronicles 7:14 - “if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Some may wonder, how can I ask for forgiveness for something I didn’t do? It is called intercessory prayer.  God isn’t asking non-believers or people from other faiths to pray; He asked His people (to turn from sin). What prevents us from asking the Holy Spirit reveal to non-believers their error as well? d. Daniel 9:4-10 - "I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.” When I read this passage, the similarities with our nation were astounding.  We are under judgment in America and Europe is burning. Why? Reread the passage. This is why we are praying, interceding for our nation because we know our nation has sinned against God. 4. As members of the Body of Christ we must speak truth, expose evil, identify the ills of our culture within your sphere of influence and pray. a. II Timothy 2:1-2 - "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” b. Job 12:23-24 - "He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste.” This passage in Job, summarizes the consequences of disobedience and sin against God.  Some will say we are under the new covenant.  That’s true and we must avail ourselves to seek forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation. But people want to ignore that God is also just and there are consequences to unrepented sin and disobedience. (Romans 1:28) 5. Humbly offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for His Mercy and His Grace towards us in our local community and within all levels of government. a. II John 1:3 - “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love." b. Psalm 22:27-28 - "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations." 6. Do not allow evil people to twist and manipulate the Word of God for the evil purposes- call it out. Romans 13:1 - "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Do not allow evil people to twist God’s Word. Any authority that requires you to violate your conscience and faith is NOT of God. In the coming days, our enemies will seek to utilize God’s Word for evil purposes. Let the Holy Spirit guide you; God will never ask us to sin or violate His Word. To the world, Christians appear to be unintelligent, uneducated, misguided fools. The fact that we are completely dependent upon our God makes us appear “weak" to the world, but we know otherwise, having done all God asked of us; then the more we can trust God will hear our prayers. Do not listen to the messaging of the world.  Please pray and begin your spiritual journey to help save our nation as a spiritual warrior of the Kingdom of God. Have a blessed day. Peace and be prepared.