On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most iconic speeches in American history. The speech began with the following words: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The Gettysburg Address, as it came to be known by, was spoken by President Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA., where one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war took place some four months prior. The total casualties (missing, injured, and killed) of the Battle of Gettysburg exceeded 50,000! Mr. Lincoln went on to say, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” America did endure the “Great Civil War” and slowly came together again as the greatest nation on earth.
America is once again involved in a civil war. This “New Civil War” is not fought on a bloody battlefield, but in our living rooms each night on news shows. It’s fought in the hallways and classrooms of colleges and universities across our country. It’s fought on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Entertainers, who at one time simply entertained us, now chime in with their political opinions and liberal agenda at will. Politicians spend more time at each other’s throats than they do serving the people who elected them to office. It’s left vs right, conservative vs liberal, and progressive vs narrow mindedness.
Indeed this is “The New Civil War.” There is no doubt that the real agitator in this new war is Satan himself, and the casualties have far exceeded those at the Battle of Gettysburg. The most important battle of this “New Civil War” will take place on Tuesday November 3 when Americans elect a president for the next four years. The results of this election will surely set the pace for upcoming battles in this new war. The real warfare in this battle will not take place on the evening news, not in any debate, nor in a voting booth. The real warfare will take place in the homes of dedicated Christians on their knees in prayer before Almighty God.
“The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29).
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
America did endure The Great Civil War; will she endure this new civil war? None of us know the answer to that question, but we do know the power of prayer, that God hears the prayer of the righteous, and is able to make us “more than conquerors.”
Mr. Lincoln certainly understood the importance of prayer, saying: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
Are you spending quality time each day on your knees before God, humbly asking Him to intervene in this new war?