Prophetic Word for 2011
by R. Loren Sandford (Charisma Magazine)
I have hesitated to publish this and have pondered carefully how I might word it in order to avoid contributing to the frenzy of fear-mongering that too often passes for the prophetic word these days.
Because I value accuracy in the prophetic I don’t like to speak until I am fairly certain of what I’m hearing or sensing.
To the point: We, the United States of America, are headed toward an intense crisis at the presidential level, the outcome of which will determine the direction of this country for a number of years to come. I sense this crisis coming at or before the beginning of President Obama’s fourth year in office. I am therefore issuing an intense call to prayer because the prayers of God’s people, together with the spirit in which we offer them, will shape the aftermath of this crisis for either good or ill.
It can be a wonderful and historic turning point for the nation, or it can be the beginning of the shattering of our country with depths of division beyond any we have seen since the Civil War. Much depends on what believers choose to do now in the months we have in which to prepare.
Please note that I am making no political statements here. I am merely pointing out that a crisis is coming—whatever form it may take—that it will directly affect our president and that the outcome of the crisis will be either restorative or destructive for us as a nation.
In order to be effective in praying toward and shaping the outcome of this coming crisis, we must first shed the anger that many of us with a conservative political orientation seem to allow to so easily overtake us. James 1:20 teaches that “the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God,” yet I continue to hear growing choruses of anger and bitterness coming from those who should know better.
Many of us will have to learn the meaning of Romans 12:20-21: "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” We must prepare ourselves to be servants, even to those whose opinions—or sins—offend our sense of what is right.
All of us must plumb the depths of 1 Timothy 2:1-2 and understand the true heart of Father God in it, whose nature is love: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” No prayer offered in any spirit but His will be heard in heaven.
Even more importantly, we must understand the meaning of our true citizenship: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).
I love my country and am glad to have been born an American, but I will never allow my love for my country to become an article of faith. I belong to the kingdom of God. America is a place on a map. The kingdom of God is an eternal state of being in which the rule and reign of God are realized. Therein lies my allegiance. When patriotism becomes an item of faith, hatred is birthed, and people always get hurt.
We are rushing toward a nexus in time, a very narrow passage in which even small events and minor decisions will loom large in their effect. We will need the intervening hand of God to achieve a good outcome and enter a season of hope.
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