National Prayer Breakfast

For a few minutes each morning, I turn on Steve, Brian, and Gretchen to catch up with any breaking news. During it, I get dressed (plus for the past three weeks get the two granddaughters dressed) and check out if anything big is going on in the world. That is where I learned of the Haitian earthquake and where I was reminded about Groundhog Day. I even saw Punxsutawney Phil as they carried him out for a spring forecast. (Of course he saw his shadow with all those television lights on).

This morning, they showed the National Prayer Breakfast, held on the first Thursday in February in Washington, D.C. This has been a yearly event since 1953, and every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated. Typically there are two guest speakers with one being the president and the other often undisclosed prior to the event. I did not hear who that was this morning, but some from the past were from interestingly diverse backgrounds: Mother Teresa, Bono, Tony Blair, and Elizabeth Dole. Hmmmmmmm

Anyway, I’m glad prayer is still allowed and encouraged, especially by our national leaders. Deuteronomy 17 has a wonderful, instructional commandment for a national leader (a king in those days). While our country is not under the old covenant of the law, nor the native Israel, nor under a king, the premises of verses 18 and 20 contain valuable truths that can be a source of power for any nation and its leadership. When we elect leaders, we should seek such as the basis for our vote.

“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left.”

Points I noticed:
•“When he takes…” From day one of a term of serving.
•“write for himself…” Every word at his fingertips.
•“copy of this law…” God’s Word.
•“It is to be with him” Meaning, it is to always be WITH him.
•“he is to read it…” Self-explanatory.
•“all the days of his life” When, how often, and how long he is to read it.
•“so that …” Purpose of the earlier two points.
•“he may learn…” The Goal.
•“to revere the LORD his God…” The beginning of wisdom.
•“and follow carefully the words…” God’s blessing follows obedience.
•“not consider himself better…” Taking care of the caveat, “Power corrupts…”
•“not turn from the law…” To personally and nationally follows God’s ways.

What a wonderful country to live in! It sounds very much like “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I think it will take King Jesus to live up to it. After all, he’s the one who said, “Not my will but yours be done.”