The National Day of Prayer took place on Thursday and it was a time that many of the nation’s most prominent Christian leaders gathered in a time of repentance, prayer and intercession for America.
However, from a spiritual perspective, we are in a “National State of Emergency” and every day should be a National Day of Prayer and every Christian church should be open 24/7 for the purpose of repentance, fasting, prayer and intercession because there now exists a convergence of dangerous forces that could potentially destroy America as we know it.
That is not a statement made for the purpose of sensationalism or hype; the race riots in our cities, the domestic threats of a major ISIS attack and a global economic crisis starting in Greece could trigger an economic collapse in America.
Matt Drudge, the founder of the most powerful Internet news website in the world, The Drudge Report, tweeted recently that the present course of events in our nation could lead to the “Fall of America.” This is the assessment of many intelligence analysts as well as Christian leaders.
In our nations history, when the Pilgrims and Puritans faced problems far less grave than what we are experiencing, they would immediately gather a “solemn assembly” and they would fast, pray and repent of their sins until they saw God intervene.
Unlike much of the modern evangelical and charismatic church, they fully understood that it was God and God alone who was their ultimate Source of all things. They did not look to man-made resources, their human wisdom or human government to be their God.
Today, American Christians look to their government to be their messiah and our economic strength, military and technology as well as there own personal resources to save them. The Pilgrims and Puritans entered into a covenant with God that was based on the covenant that God made with children of Israel outlined in Deuteronomy 28, where we see the incredible blessings in every area of life promised by God if His people worship Him alone and do not worship idols and if they are diligent to obey the Word of God. Conversely, if God’s people rejected the Word of God, they would be under a curse.
America is now in the greatest crisis that it has ever known and what happens to America will affect the whole world. The current race riots, domestic terrorist threats and an impending financial crisis could cause “The Fall of America.” In addition, hyper-immorality and the spirit of antichrist have gripped our nation and unprecedented persecution is about to break out against both Christians and Jews in America.
One of the primary sins in the church is a unbiblical fatalism. By not “rightly dividing the Word of God, many believers falsely conclude that God cannot send revival or restore America because of its sins.
For example, America is under a degree of judgment because in many respects the church has become idolatrous. The idols that the Christian church in America is worshipping are the idols of humanism, which teaches man is god, and the idols of sex, pleasure, materialism, etc. As Dr. Francis Schaeffer once said, the idols of the evangelical church are the gods of “personal peace, prosperity and pleasure.” But God will respond with grace and mercy if we as His people turn from these sins.
Tragically, there exists a counterfeit repentance that exists among evangelicals and charismatics that consists of “playing church.” Instead of deep contrition, genuine repentance and a true crying out to God, there exists a form of godliness, which denies the power of God. In many of these churches, we see the following counterfeit forms of repentance and an imitation of seeking God. These are things like:
- Playing church where Christians and their leaders play the game of seeking the Lord, repenting, experiencing true worship and revival. Instead of worshipping God in spirit and truth, there is hype, manipulation, flesh-based emotionalism, a reliance on humanistic marketing principles, and the rejection of the diligent study of God’s Word, along with church growth based on secular public relations principles.
- These churches and many of the people who attend them actually resist the Holy Spirit by willfully commit themselves to secular church growth efforts and practices developed by atheists who have a hidden agenda in transforming the church into a humanistic-globalist institution that fits into the world system. Genuine revival and a Third Great Awakening is not welcome in these churches even though they may use such terms, but their agenda is purely secular, humanistic and psychological.
We prefer human-engineered revivals rather than genuine revivals that come from the power of God because “counterfeit revivals” allow us to be in control of the process.
In our fallen human nature we seek to put on the proverbial fig leaves of self effort so that we can avoid a radical move of God where the Holy Spirit intrudes with such power and force that the Spirit of God demands that we die with Him on the cross and that we truly pick up our cross and follow Him.
All true revivals represent a genuine move of the Spirit of God where the outpouring of the Holy Spirit forces us to die to the flesh. The Holy Spirit cleanses and sanctifies our inner man or woman. When this happens the power, glory and presence of God ignites us with the dunamis where we get our modern term “dynamite.”
When we are truly clothed with power from on high, the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit causes an explosion of the power of God that destroys the carnality in the church.
As such there is often a change in church leadership along with the elders and those people who may be big tithers leave. In other words, there is a Holy Spirit shake-up, which would not normally be allowed due to carnality.
Genuine spiritual awakenings allow for a full-force invasion of the Spirit of God in our lives, churches, society and nation. This rocks and topples the status quo controlled by the temporary God of this age, who is Lucifer. It is law-abiding and peaceful, but it releases a radical confrontation by the power of God with the kingdoms of darkness. The very atmosphere of churches, communities and the nation is changed. Principalities, powers and demonic forces are driven from the land and the presence of God begins to be felt once again in the land.
There are a number of believers who do not interpret prophecy correctly; they believe that when the Bible says, “In the last days evil doers will get worse and worse,” that we can do nothing to change it. First, we are still in a season prophetically where God is extending His grace and is willing to answer our prayers; this does not run contrary to prophecy. Secondly, even with things like evildoers growing worse, the Great Apostasy, immorality, spiritual deception and men’s hearts growing cold are now increasing, a remnant church is rising and a biblical revival is rising to confront a counterfeit revival.
We cannot undo God’s prophetic Word, but a careful reading of God’s Word teaches us that we are to be participants with God in the end times and not passive spectators.
This is why I have been calling regular prophesy and prayer meetings through Paradise Mountain Church in order to obey what God showed me about revival coming to America if God’s people will repent and pray.
When revival breaks out Jesus Christ begins to release His healing, glory, presence, provision and break the chains of bondage in every dimension of your life. The result is that the powers of heaven will be released upon our nation with such force that the powers of darkness are shaken and instead of all hell breaking loose, all heaven breaks loose.
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire’s new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
Paul McGuire is a prophecy expert, Fox News and History Channel commentator, host of GOD TV’s Apocalypse and the End Times and the author of two dozen books, including The Babylon Code, Mass Awakening, A Prophecy of the Future of America and The Day the Dollar Died. For a decade, McGuire was the host of the nationally-syndicated radio talk show, The Paul McGuire Show. You can visit his website at paulmcguire.us.