Roger Anghis
After Franklin called for prayer because he knew that God was ultimately in charge and that without his help, they would never get the foundation for the government they were seeking. They were godly men. Benjamin Franklin may have been the least godly, but even he knew the importance of seeking God’s face in the matters of developing the Constitution. His recommendation was taken to heart and James Madison moved, and Roger Sherman seconded that Dr. Franklin’s appeal for prayer be enacted. Then Edmund Jennings Randolph further moved:
“That a sermon be preached at the request of the convention on the 4th of July, the anniversary of Independence; and thenceforward prayers be used in ye Convention every morning.”
It is interesting to note here that prayers have opened both houses of Congress ever since.[1]
The act of prayer is an admission that things are out of our human realm of control. How else could a ragtag army of farmers and preachers defeat the strongest army in the world at that time? There were so many times that Washington depended on the hand of God to win battles or retreat safely to fight another day. They knew that Providence had to assist them. Washington stated: “When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it was visibly manifested, in guiding us through the Revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a general government, and in conciliating the goodwill of the People of America towards one” Washington knew that God was in control of his destiny and stated in a letter to his brother John Washington concerning a battle with Native Americans when Washington was with the British army in 1755. Washington wrote: “But by all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullet holes through my coat and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me.”[2]
Washington even gave God credit for not just getting them through the Revolution but designing the system of government we have, the most successful the world has ever seen, and bringing the people together as it had not been seen anywhere in the world at that time. “When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it was visibly manifested, in guiding us through the Revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a general government, and in conciliating the goodwill of the People of America towards one”
All through our history we see our presidents petition God for help. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was always concerned about the North’s motives. He was once asked if he thought God was on the side of the North and his response was that was not his concern at all. What he was concerned about was, was the North on the side of God because he knew that if they were opposing God, they would surely lose. Lincoln knew that God was directing the nation and that God was in charge.
During both world wars, God was there directing the nations that stood for righteousness. That may sound uppity but some nations did not rely on God. Germany, Japan were not on the side of God. I will also state that neither was Russia but Russia was on our side as far as defeating Hitler and Japan was concerned so they were given favor by God for our and Britain’s sake.
Our soldiers were men of faith. In that day church faith in God was much more prevalent than it is today, unfortunately. We could use a lot of that character in today’s church members. We would not be seeing the chaos that we are seeing today if that were the case. Many of our soldiers would pray before and during a battle. When we pray a meaningful prayer, God is placed in charge. So many people believe that God will just cause what needs to happen but fail to realize that He can not do that without us asking Him. If He could just make happen what is right we wouldn’t have the problems we have today but He cannot do that. In Genesis 1:28 it says And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. He gave man dominion over the earth and all that is in it so it is our obligation to speak forth what needs to happen. If we do that then God remains in charge and can act as we petition Him to.
We have massive opposition out there that is heavily influenced but satanic forces. He gets his followers to act as he wants them to, riots, looting, violence, and murders. We can oppose that with prayer and with the proper prayer He will act as is needed and He will also give us direction as to how to properly oppose these evil forces.
George Washington, despite the lies from revisionist historians, was a man of prayer. After the Revolutionary War, he would often call for days of prayer and fasting to thank God for what He has done for them and to get direction for the nation: “I do recommend and assign Thursday … next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” He even believed that to properly govern, we needed Him and His Word: “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” He thoroughly believed that God intervened for America during the Revolutionary War and caused a ragtag group of men to defeat the most powerful army in the world at that time. “I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.”
We cannot forget that the Founders depended on God for everything which is what we should be doing as well. When we let Him be in charge then things will work out the way they need to for America to be safe, prosperous, and the envy of the world. Keep Him in charge!
© 2020 NWV – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Roger Anghis: roger@buildingthetruth.org
Foot Notes
- Defining America’s Exceptionalism, Roger Anghis (Westbow Press, Bloomington, IN) pp. 104-105
- Defining America’s Exceptionalism, Roger Anghis (Westbow Press, Bloomington, IN)
- p. 156
