Pray for America预览

Pray for Mental and Emotional Health

It's interesting how our language does not always keep up with technology. So many young Americans have never literally rolled down a car window or literally hung up a telephone. Then there are phrases like "stay tuned" that are still used generically but are becoming more and more removed from their original, specified usage. Like the car window and the phone, many have never adjusted a radio dial, let alone ensured it stayed tuned to a particular station.

Those who have changed radio stations by dial will likely never forget the process. For the most part, nothing but static is heard. Occasionally, as the frequency is adjusted, the static temporarily mingles with something inaudible. This can happen a few times before the inaudible sounds become clearer and clearer until a station is received perfectly, and the static disappears.

Having clarity of thought and clarity of emotion is a lot like tuning in to a radio station. When the dial is perfectly balanced on a station's frequency, what they're transmitting is easily received. However, even the slightest turn of the dial can cause static to reappear. Feeling anxious, thinking about all the things that need to get done, or even having a chemical/hormonal imbalance can all be like moving the dial. It's no wonder that when we go to receive a clear transmission, all we end up hearing is static.

So what is the "station" to which we should stay tuned? Paul tells us: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). God's will. Divine leading on how we can bless our neighbor. How we need to intercede on behalf of America for this moment. And how much He loves us. Renewing our mind is like recentering the dial on the right frequency. "What is good and acceptable and perfect" comes through loud and clear.

Today, pray for healing—for you and every believer—of anything that is imbalanced or not properly connected, areas we often can't control. Ask God to guard our hearts and guide our minds in what we do have control over, like what we watch, listen to, take part in, dwell on, etc. That way, we're not sowing seeds that will grow into anxiety, worry, doubt, depression, hopelessness, or rage.

There's something else we need to pray for. Unfortunately, many Americans have not only grown accustomed to static, they've come to prefer it. They would rather become trapped in numbing cycles and addictions than receive clear transmissions from others who might confront them. So pray for deliverance from traps like social media overconsumption, gossip, pornography, gaming obsessions, or self-deprecation—anything that damages hearts and minds.

After all, we don't want to "conform to this world;" we want to be transformed. But we also want to see this world transformed.