National Day of Prayer, 2011
My sons have called on me on a number of occasions to help them with something. From the very beginning of their lives, they have had the ability to communicate to me that they needed me. And they have used it frequently. Just recently, my son's car would not crank. So what did he do? He called me and said, “Dad, my car will not start.”
What was he doing? He was inviting me into his situation. He was asking me to get involved in what was going on in his life. My son wanted my intervention at that moment in his life. And because he invited me to be involved, we were able to repair his car so that it cranked.
As I think about prayer, that is the picture that comes to my mind today. Like my son, our nation is facing a difficult situation. We have numerous issues right now that need divine assistance. Our economy is still declining. Our morals are corrupt. Unemployment is too high. The healthcare situation is a mess. We are fighting a war.  The leaders in governments are not leading. The nation is polarized. On and on the difficulties line up. We are leaving our children a growing disaster. Our solutions have not and are not working. It seems like the harder we try our ways, the worse things get. What should we do? I think we should do what my sons have always done - call their dad.
Several years ago, our state was facing a drought. Do you know what our governor did? He stood on the front steps of the capitol building and he called on his Dad to send rain. And since then the lake levels have risen. I noticed that California faced a similar situation as well. Do you know what their governor did? He proposed a canal to move water to the areas that needed it - at a cost of $11 billion. I have wanted to tell Arnold to give Sonny a call and ask how he dealt w/ the drought issue?
GOD can change situations in a heartbeat. He has the power and authority to intervene in order to make things work properly. GOD has decided that the best way to work in His world is through prayer. He involves Himself in people’s lives when they ask. Prayer is His ordained means of changing the way that things work (or don’t work). He acts in response to prayer.
If we want GOD to intervene in our circumstance as a nation, then we have to do only one thing – Call on Him to help. When we ask, He responds. That is the pattern I see from the Bible. That is the promise I read from Jesus. Just like my son did, if we will invite GOD to our situation, He will respond.  
Some may be thinking, “Well yeah, we have done that. Many of us pray every morning for our nation and invite GOD into our situation. But He seems to be staying at a distance. What’s up w/ that?” And honestly I am not sure. However it makes me wonder.
If my son called me one day and said, “Dad, my car will not start” and in the course of the conversation I realized that he did not have gas in it, do you know what I would do? I would tell him to get a ride, go to the store, purchase a gas can, go to another store, put gas in that can and then go to his car and put the gas in that car. And at that point, his car would transport him again. Then we would have another conversation about what the “E” means on his dashboard.
So I am wondering if the reason GOD has seemingly not intervened is because we know what to do. We know what needs to take place. We have the resources to do what needs to be done. We just need to do it. The issue is not that the Father has not responded to our prayers. He has. The issue may be that we have not responded to His directions.
See Micah 6:8 - He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
And our prayer becomes – GOD, show us what to do and give us courage to do it.