“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water; He turns it to any place He will” (Prov. 21:1).
“Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform wondrous deeds among you'” (Josh. 3:5).
The nation of Israel came to a place where they could no longer go forward by natural means.
The Jordan River was overflowing its banks, and only a miracle could take them across. Sanctification and humility in God’s people are always the ingredients to move the hand of God to alter the course of a river out of control. Death for their nation seemed certain, but a dying nation always has the seed of a miracle inside of it.
I sense our nation is at the brink of the Jordan River and we, the body of Christ, hold the key to unlock the gate to our cities for the King of Glory to come in.
I saw an epitaph engraved on the lock of the gate of the city of Washington, D.C., that was keeping the King of Glory from coming in. This epitaph read: “Lack of honor.” This city seemed to be dying from the lack of honor! We, also, in the body of Christ had fallen short in honoring this city, its government and its governmental officials.
I sensed the Lord was showing me that many of us in the body of Christ have not yet experienced the honor that’s released upon our own lives that comes as we respect and honor the spiritual and secular authority that God has placed in our lives. Therefore we were lacking in God’s favor when it came to praying for the governmental authority in our nation and other countries. 1 Peter 2:17 says, “Honor all people. … Honor the king.”
By honoring others, we are honoring the Lord. To honor means “to set a price on,” “value,” “esteem,” “regard” or “respect.” Of course, we don’t honor sin or evil.
I sense this “lack of honor” in our nation has its origin deeply rooted in our families by failing to honor our fathers and mothers. Exodus 20:12 says, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
A doctor attending our church felt led to take time off work and visit his father and mother who lived in Florida. He took a month off to bless them and love on them. Upon returning home, this doctor had a physical checkup and was diagnosed with colon cancer. He said that when his physician said the word “cancer” to him, he had a strange peace come over him and the Lord spoke, “Since you have honored your father and mother, I am going to heal you and give you a long life!” That doctor has no cancer now!
I believe honoring our fathers and mothers, God’s first commandment with a promise, plays a significant part in God giving us our land … America. As the family goes, so goes the nation. No wonder the enemy has been working overtime to bring forth a fatherless generation. I also sense that this includes honoring our “spiritual” fathers and mothers in order to take the land.
A Command From the Throne Room Over Washington … “Can’t Touch This!”
I sense the reason our prayers have been hindered for our nation is because we have failed to honor our spiritual leaders first, regardless of those who have disappointed and failed us. I wish for a moment we could talk to David before he was king, when the kingdom was rent from his fallen leader, King Saul. As his own leader pursued him, even to try to take his life, the key to turn the nation around and fulfill his own purpose and destiny was this very clear order from the throne room: “Can’t touch this!”
It seemed as though one of the keys to turn Israel back to God was absolute respect and honor that did not depend upon the leader’s character; but honoring king Saul, as evil as he became, did something for David and his followers that caused them to ultimately come into favor with God and man, which eventually caused them to turn the nation back to God and promote them into the nation’s leadership!
It’s interesting to me that when the news came the day King Saul died in battle, David wept and said, “This day a great man has fallen in Israel!” Perhaps, as David learned to honor Saul and pray for him, he developed God’s deep compassion for him.
When we begin to honor and pray for our spiritual authority, then power is released in our prayers to change us, giving us God’s heart for those in authority, which then releases prayer-power that can even change the governmental authority in our nation.
When we begin to honor those in authority, we will begin to desire to cry out for those in authority.
The apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-2: “Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone, for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty.”
It seems in this verse that our quiet and peaceable life in all godliness doesn’t so much depend on the response of our government to our prayers, but peace and godliness in our lives becomes the by-product of praying for those in governmental authority.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 reads, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
I believe we need to get back to believing that God’s will for every person is to be saved. He desires none to perish. We need our “believer” stretched to believe what God believes about people.
It’s time for us to tear up our lists of people who we think are too far gone in sin and evil and put the most corrupt people on earth on “God’s Most Wanted List!” When we seriously pray for people, we will start seeing them as God sees them … ripe for the picking for His harvest!
It’s hard to pray for someone whom we don’t respect or honor. But as we honor them, we will see God’s heart and reason to pray for them. Their heart, though it may be far from perfect—like yours and mine—is still in His hands, and He is still able to turn it.
Ephraim (America) has become a cake not turned. But a nation can be turned in one day.
“Ephraim mixes himself with the people. Ephraim is a cake not turned” (Hos. 7:8)
“Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her sons. Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause delivery? says the Lord. Shall I who cause delivery shut the womb? says your God” (Isa. 66:8-9).
Prayer Changes Us
“Change” seems to be the word of the hour for our nation and in the body of Christ and, I believe, in the heart of God, also. I know that God doesn’t change, but I believe He can “flip flop” on our nation’s destiny even if it seems all doom and gloom right now. He can change His mind as He has in the past. (Ask Jonah if he thought God “flip flopped” about Nineveh.)
God can “flip flop” and turn America over in a hot oven and finish baking this cake … if we pray and turn from our own “flip flopping” in our lives!
Let us repent and pray, believing. Repent means “to have a change of mind”—even about our government and nation!
Honor must be released from the body of Christ—now! {eoa}
Bill Yount has been a member of Bridge of Life Church in Hagerstown, Maryland, for the past 40 years and is in leadership. He faithfully served in prison ministry at Mount Hope Inc. for 23 years and now travels full-time, ministering in churches and Aglow circles. He is currently an adviser at large for Aglow International. Bill has authored several prophetic books. His latest book is Handfuls of Purpose. Subscribe to his prophetic emails, and visit Bill’s website at billyount.com or email him at [email protected].
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