04-2SCooper - Government by Steve Cooper  is a Focus On Prayer article:  This article is part of the second series of articles that address the twelve areas of prayer for which the Lord has requested that all in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Archdiocese of Detroit intercede.  Anyone led to pray for this particular intention of government, please contact Stephen Cooper, the writer of this article, at #586-731-0579, to let him know that you will join with him and others in praying for this topic.

GOVERNMENT (article 2) by Stephen Cooper

Let me proclaim Yahweh’s decree; he has told me, “You are my son, today I have become your father.  Ask and I will give you the nations for your heritage, the ends of the earth for your domain.  With iron scepter you will break them, shatter them like potter’s ware.”  So now, you kings, learn wisdom, earthly rulers, be warned:  serve Yahweh, fear him, tremble and kiss his feet, or he will be angry and you will perish, for his anger is very quick to blaze.  (Psalm 2:7-10)

Government!!  Government!! Every time people hear that word, four things can happen:  1)        They say, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”  Or 2)       “I do not want to know.”  Or 3)       They start to blame someone for something.  Or       4)    They say, “It won’t work; it is all wrong!”

Think about the Israelites’ prayer to God for a deliverer because they were in bondage, and God sent them Moses.  The Israelites didn’t think too much of Moses. He didn’t have an army or any influence.  The only thing that Moses had was his brother, Aaron, and a staff.  What is this against a Pharaoh?  Another example:  Saul was about to engage in battle with the Philistines.  From out of their ranks stepped a huge man, Goliath, six and a half feet tall.  Who stepped out of the ranks of the Israelites? – a young lad by the name of David.  Even his brothers laughed at him.  (Cf. 1 Samuel 17:1-51)

Ever since Cain and Abel, man has been at war with someone or something.  The only time man was not at war was for the 34 years when Jesus Christ walked the earth.  Even then, not everyone was at peace with the way things were. As I am writing this, a thought comes to mind.  If we are all asked to pray for something and that something does come about, do we then rejoice and thank the Lord God for this something?  Or do we see it and say that God didn’t have a hand in it?  Or are we angry and frustrated because the outcome was not what WE wanted!  The reason I am saying all this is because we were all asked to pray for a president and we got one.  Now, people are calling this man names and everything else under the sun.  We prayed and fasted for this election.  God heard us and answered our prayer.  Maybe not the way WE wanted it!!  Think about the Israelites’ prayer to God for a deliverer because they were in bondage, and God sent them Moses.  The Israelites didn’t think too much of Moses.

Remember what the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature.  Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.”  (1 Samuel 16:7)  We should be like Aaron and Hur toward our President as these men were with Moses.  (Cf. Exodus 17:10-13)  Moses’ hands grew tired, so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.  Then, Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that Moses could continue to pray for victory for the Israelites.  Just because the outcome of our prayers in the past was not what we thought it should be, we must still pray and fast for our government leaders.  Maybe God will answer our prayers the way WE want Him to.  NEXT TIME……

(Stephen Cooper is a member of the Community of God’s Love Prayer Group at St. Kieran Church, Shelby Township, Michigan, and a member of the DCCR Assembly.)