Isaiah 62:1 declares because I love Zion, I will not cease to pray for her or to cry out to God on her behalf until she shines forth in His righteousness and is glorious in His salvation.

Perhaps the greatest of the prophets concludes his words by reminding Israel, through his personal example, to pray for their nation.

America could sure use some prayer.

Over its nearly 250 year history as a nation it has often been likened to Israel in its formation. God’s chosen people were small but were established by God in the beautiful land. The Pilgrims, as a part of the Church, were God’s chosen people and having suffered many trials were established in this beautiful land.

It was for freedom to worship God and live according to His commands that the Pilgrims came as did many of the earliest settlers laying a foundation of Christian principles that have served us over these past few centuries.

Today, America is maligned much by our media, schools and government. These entities no longer teach that our nation is special, that it is great and that it is good.

Far too many Christians have likewise bought into this perspective forgetting our founding and failing to see how this nation is still the world’s foremost provider of aid, compassion and relief to the world in chaos and crisis.

No, America is not perfect nor has she ever been but America is good and she is unique in the world.

We would all do well to visit Dinesh D’ Souza’s America movie as he portrays a world without her as part of our 4th of July celebration. Christians should do more though than just watch a great documentary about the greatness of our country.

Christians should echo Isaiah’s heart and pray for this nation.

America needs Christians to unceasingly pray for her to shine forth in righteousness and in the glory of His salvation. Christians are commanded by God to pray and to pray specifically for their leaders: our leaders at every level of government, education and media need our prayers for righteousness according to the standard God has recorded in the Bible.

Christians need also to work for this righteousness to be restored to this country. This means first orientating our own lives around the commands of God. Christians must be the first to repent and the first to do what is good and right in the eyes of God.

Then Christians need to share the glorious salvation of God in Jesus the Christ.

The best way to celebrate this 4th of July is to do good and to share good news after taking some time to pray for America.