When you read this “America’s Greatest Threat Lies Within Our Borders” headline, what comes to mind? Illegal immigrants? Fentanyl? Terrorist operatives? Rampant homelessness? Fentanyl and opioids? Gun violence? The economy?

All these are indeed significant threats to our way of life. And they are happening all at the same time, giving us the sense that we are essentially fighting a nonmilitary war on multiple fronts. But those are not our greatest threats.

View Comments (28)

Get involved in state level prayer with IFA.

According to a Fox News opinion piece by Jonathan Turley, America’s greatest threat is “hiding in plain sight.” He is referring to our rapidly eroding trust in established and respected institutions such as government, religion, and banking. That was brought to light by several polls conducted in recent months. The Associated Press NORC Center for Public Research found that about half of adults say they have “hardly any confidence at all” in the people who serve in Congress. The Federal Times reports: “The lack of faith extends beyond Congress, with recent polling conducted both before and after the leadership meltdown finding a mistrust in everything from the courts to organized religion.”

The Federal Times article further says that:

• 53% of adults have little confidence in the leadership of Congress;
• 49% have hardly any confidence in the Executive Branch;
• 36% have little confidence in the Judicial Branch;
• 45% have little or no confidence that the news media report the news fully and accurately.

Why is this a threat? The eroding trust in government is causing a groundswell of voices in academia and the media to “dump” the Constitution and bypass institutions like Congress and the Supreme Court. For instance, in a recent open letter, Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet and San Francisco State University political scientist Aaron Belkin called upon President Joe Biden to defy rulings of the Supreme Court that he considers “mistaken” in the name of what they call “popular constitutionalism.” That trend is a dangerous move away from absolute legal standards and toward subjective situations and agenda-driven interpretations.

Politicians, too, are contributing to this erosion of public faith in government. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has openly questioned the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.

These increasingly aggressive attacks on our government institutions and the U.S. Constitution are troubling. After all, the Constitution is a contract between the government and the people, put into place to guarantee the people’s rights and freedoms and to protect against government overreach and corruption. And the three branches of government were put in place to provide a system of checks and balances in governmental authority.

We should not be surprised that the U.S. government and the Constitution are under attack. After all, they are institutions put in place by God: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves (Romans 13:1–2).

Because government authority is an institution from God, it is a target for demonic activity, which causes power plays, deception, and corruption that erode public trust.

The U.S. government in particular has godliness embedded at its foundation. Its three branches reflect the roles that God laid out in Isaiah 33:22: judge, lawgiver, and king. The Constitution was written as a biblically based document. As John Adams wrote in a letter to the officers of the First Brigade, Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Godly government, guided by a Bible-based constitution, is important for the global Church. Such government continuously points to the Bible as God’s revelation to man, beckoning people to live in a right relationship with God. Of course, this is no substitute for the kingdom of God, which we can enter only through personal repentance leading to soul salvation. But good government is conducive to the spread of the gospel message and helps create an environment for the Church to grow, contributing significantly to worldwide fulfillment of the Great Commission.

The erosion of trust in a civil authority that is to maintain law and order and preserve rights and justice leads to social division and lawlessness. It brings division because we no longer accept any authority above us to unify us, and it brings lawlessness because we stop obeying the laws given and enforced by an authority we have ceased to trust.

All of this plays directly into Satan’s hand. His plan is to divide, conquer, and destroy us. If he can successfully create chaos in our government leading to a mistrust of authority, that mistrust will then overflow into other institutions, including the Church. According to the polls, this is precisely what is happening. And it is causing a mass exodus from what the emerging generation calls “organized religion” into loose forms of personal spirituality they call “none” — meaning, no affiliation with any established religion or system of belief. That is enough for Satan, who wants no one to identify with the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved.

If the erosion of trust in government and the Church continues to worsen, that can lead to our nation’s collapse, as people begin doing what is right in their own eyes, losing their moral compass, and opposing each other instead of uniting for the common good. A nation divided will fall. A nation bereft of moral conscience will destroy itself. A nation that turns its back on biblical moorings will embrace demonically inspired forms of religion and turn its back on the God of the Bible, on the salvation He has wrought for us, and on the blessing of being one nation under Him who was so involved in its foundation.

Losing the favor of God and turning away from His precepts are bigger threats to our future, our security, and the well-being of our nation than any terrorist group or opposing superpower.

This lends a sense of urgency to the Bible’s call to pray for our government (see 1 Timothy 2:1–4), in particular for restoration of the integrity of our leadership. Just as the election of unwise or corrupt leaders will lead to disastrous policies that destroy public trust, the reverse is also true: The election of godly men and women will lead to prayer-driven, wise policies that will restore public trust.

That is our beginning point for strategic prayer over the erosion of trust in our nation’s institutions. Let us pray that God would raises up strong candidates at every level of government: local, county, state, and federal, and for every branch: executive, legislative, and judicial. Hand in hand with that, let us pray that God would raise up a new generation of Spirit-filled, prayerful pastors and evangelists who handle His Word with love and without compromise. The results of such prayer will be far-reaching. God’s answers will restore to America a climate conducive to the growth of the Church and to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The benefits of such a moral climate will be law and order, peace, and security — in other words, to liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

Father, thank You for all You deposited in the foundation of our country. Forgive us for turning away from Your precepts and embracing instead godless principles of government. We pray for Your hand of restraint against those who seek to actively undermine the biblical design of our government and our Constitution, and against the forces of darkness now at work to destroy us. Raise up godly men and women to run for office in every branch and level of government so that our nation will once again be directed by godly principles and by people who direct the citizenry to live in right relationship with You. Raise up a new generation of church leadership that will proclaim Your Word with wisdom, truth, and love, so that Your name will be trusted and worshipped, and Your Church will be trusted. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 Share this article to encourage others to pray about this grave threat to our nation.

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and pastored his first church in Amsterdam. He moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs at www.deeperlifeblog.com and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: P_Wei/Getty Images Signature.