This prophetic article, originally published in April 1976, is just as relevant today.

On December 31, the eve of our bicentennial year, Dr. Billy Graham warned every American that our nation’s survival as a free society is by no means certain, and that the outcome will depend upon what Christians do to remedy America’s spiritual decline. The urgency of our situation as he portrayed it must challenge each of us:

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I believe that every problem facing us tonight as Americans is basically a spiritual problem. Crime is a spiritual problem. Inflation is a spiritual problem. Corruption is a spiritual problem. Social injustice is a spiritual problem. The lack of a “will” even to defend our freedom is a spiritual problem.

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The Lord, speaking through His servant, the prophet Isaiah said, “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask me. I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, here am I, to a nation that did not call on my name. I spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people…who provoke me to my face continually…when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did that which was evil in my eyes…” And judgement came!

“The great question before us tonight, on the eve of our 200^th birthday and on the eve of 1976-a crucial election year-is: Will this nation survive this century as a free society, or even for the next five years as a free society?

God is warning us tonight that judgment is going to fall upon us in a very short time unless we as a nation repent and turn to God.

Will America turn to God at this late hour, or will America continue on the broad road that leads to destruction? It will soon be too late to decide-clouds are gathering.”

A New York Times correspondent who recently returned from an extended assignment in Moscow observed that America is a nation adrift. We are like a ship that has lost its bearings, aimlessly tossing on a stormy sea. Our goals as individuals as a nation are blurred. We lack purpose and direction.

A young American girl, attending a recent world literature exposition in Frankfurt, Germany saw dramatic evidence of this. As exhibits were dismantled on the final day, Americans and Europeans staggered about from the nights of parties and drinking. In stark contrast, the well-mannered high officials from Communist China who attended the show calmly gathered in a circle in their exhibition booth to openly discuss their plans for world domination. The reality then struck her: these people, misguided as they are, have a specific goal and a plan for accomplishing it. While we flounder, the well-organized forces of Satan are on the move, implementing a counterfeit of the great commission Jesus gave His followers: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations…”

We can ill-afford to drift. Left unchecked, we can expect our situation to worsen in every sector of our national life-government, the family, education, our moral structure-on and on. The path that leads to destruction is indeed wide. Dr. Graham’s question bears restating: “Will America repent and turn to God at this late hour?”

Our Options

Faced with the alarming decay that surrounds us, many sincere believers have retreated into a glum despair, convicted that “this is the way it will be in the last days” and there’s nothing we can do about it. Believing that things can only get worse, large numbers have given up on our imperiled society. Our images of government, the educational system, and other institutions are so tarnished that we have drawn back and abandoned them to an enemy who has been more than willing to fill the vacuum. Virtually unopposed, Satan has laid claim to the media, the legislature, and our universities.

W. J. Ern Baxter, who frequently speaks to large groups of Christians, notes that rarely will he find one out of one hundred in his audiences who can say they regularly uphold our nation and its leaders in prayer. A still smaller percentage truly believe either our nation or its leaders can be redeemed.

(Editor’s note: Praise God! IFA now has a reach of 10 million people monthly. God has stirred His people to pray for this nation like never before!)

This kind of neglect is not what Christ taught. In Luke’s gospel, we find servants who are left in charge of the master’s treasure while he goes to receive a kingdom. The master’s clear instructions are “to occupy” until his return. Judgement came to those who neglected this command.

We are expected by God to hold fast to the treasure entrusted to us until the forces of Satan are broken, and the Lord is triumphant.

Certainly, this nation, founded on the premise that God is our Supreme Ruler and the source of all true authority, is part of our treasure, and part of our stewardship responsibility. Since the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in search of spiritual freedom, God has greatly blessed us. The question we face is whether a just God, who abhors the evil in our land, can continue to bless us.

The Alternative

Increasingly, the Church is discovering the fact that God in His mercy does want to bless America. We are grasping God’s promise to ancient Israel: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

This is the challenge for God’s people to take the offensive. This is the battle cry. This is getting armed and engaging the enemy with the most powerful weapon against evil that God has committed to His people.

Dr. Graham, in his New Year’s eve message, crystallized the task before us: “I am calling Christians everywhere to a time of humiliation, prayer and fasting during this 200^th anniversary. There is no possible solution to the problems we face apart from a change in the spiritual atmosphere.”

The “spiritual atmosphere” is precisely where the real battles are being waged. Because we have developed near total reliance upon our intellects, technology and our human capabilities, we have neglected God and have become insensitive to the spiritual warfare in our midst.

Paul, in his epistle to the Ephesians, describes the true enemy:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).

Daniel engaged in this cosmic struggle on behalf of his nation, and after three weeks of intercessory prayer was visited by an angel who came in answer to that prayer, stating that his delay was caused by a struggle with satanic strongholds in the heavenlies:

…from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this, and on humbling yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days: then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia (Dan. 10:12-13).

Daniel stood his ground until the opposition in heavenlies was broken.

In a more current setting, we see the results of God’s people engaging the enemy through intercessory prayer: In November 1975, a demonic rock group was scheduled to perform in Traverse City, Michigan. For weeks prior to the “concert” young believers not only prayed, but openly proclaimed in their schools that God was going to stop the performance. As the perverted program began, $12,000 worth of electronic equipment blew out. Attempts at repair were in vain, and the concert was cancelled, and six thousand young people were turned away. A local church leader commented: “The city is charged with this open demonstration of God’s power.” The Christians in Traverse City knew they were opposing spiritual forces, and they unleashed the mighty power of prayer. They were the “salt in the earth” and, through God, they held back corruption.

In December 1975, state level equal rights amendments were defeated in New York and New Jersey, to the complete amazement of ERA supporters. A woman in Rochester, New York, attributed the defeat of this legislation to prayer and fasting, saying, “This was a clear victory for the Lord. They (supporters) had money, power, media control, everything. But we had the King; that is all we needed.”

The essential truth that is beginning to reach the hearts of Christians in America is that God wants our land healed. He wants to restore righteousness to the government. He wants for us the precious liberties that were forged into our Constitution and Bill of Rights, including the freedom of choice, of worship, of assembly, and of speech. He wants marriages healed, and children brought under the love and discipline of God-fearing parents. He wants us to be blessed with health and prosperity. He wants each of us to “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Tim. 2:2)

But for this to occur, the Church can no longer be passive or silent. Our foremost responsibility, if we are to see change, is to repent, come under the Lordship of Jesus, and take up the weapons of warfare He makes available.

For reasons we may not fully understand, He is giving us this opportunity. There’s an urgency to it. There is an awareness that we must act now. We cannot delay.

We cannot delay this prayer emphasis. . . .

It is awesome to realize that the outcome of our present crisis will depend on what Christians do about it. We must decide whether we will stand back and continue to let Satan run roughshod through our country, or whether we will launch a mighty offensive of God-directed prayer and action against the enemy’s strongholds. Author and Bible scholar, Derek Prince, has declared this position

“…if I am to be a martyr, I would rather fall in some grand assault on the gates of hell than have my head cut off by antichrist, hiding with my hoarded groceries in some remote cave.”

“Intercessors for America” is calling the Church to that kind of positive, aggressive response. Can we trust God and His mighty angels to drive out the demonic forces that are sabotaging our media, our schools, and our families? God says that if we do our part, He will heal our land. Let us lay hold of the glorious promise. The course and destiny of America hangs in the balance.

How are you praying for America? Share this article to encourage others to pray.

This article was written by John Beckett, one of IFA’s founders and a current board member. Photo credit: Intercessors for America.