By Dwayne Hastings
NOTE: Original print date was Aug 30, 2010. Although emphsis is dated, the prayer guide is a valuable resource for your files and reference.
"Instead of influencing the culture, it appears on most fronts the culture is influencing us. Too often, instead of being 'salt' and 'light,' we are being salted and lit by the secular culture around us," said Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, focusing on a theme he often raises when preaching.
"Our churches are in need of a truly spiritual revival, and our nation is in need of a great movement of God's Spirit," Land said, noting that this need was the impetus behind the development of the 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal, which debuted in 2008 in partnership with the North American Mission Board.
"To change lives we must first be changed," Land said. "We must pray for and experience spiritual regeneration, then recognize and accept our responsibilities as Christians to be 'salt' and 'light' in the culture," he said, referencing Matthew 5:13-16.
A pitched spiritual battle rages across the country and around the world, Land said. "Such warfare must be met first of all with spiritual weapons," he said. "We must pray for a great outpouring of God's Spirit on our homes, our churches and ourselves that our moral foundation might be recovered."
"God draws close to those who call out to Him," Land said, paraphrasing Psalm 145:18.
"It is God's way or no way. And right now our nation and many of our families are heading in every way but after God," Land said.
--30--
Dwayne Hastings is a vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
Copyright (c) 2010 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
