Dutch Sheets’ “Give Him 15” blog post highlighted the Intercessors for America’s call to prayer around the trucker protest heading to Washington D.C. and for public trust in our law enforcement officials to be restored. Here is that post, with my prayer at the end.
“More and more people – both here in America and abroad – have decided they’ve had enough of governmental control and the politicization of Covid. The truckers in Canada let their voices be heard loudly and clearly. American truckers are now doing the same. Today we want to pray for them. The following article, released by our friends at Intercessors For America, provides us with good insights in praying for this.
“I’m sure that you have not missed the news that a trucker convoy is heading from California to DC in solidarity with the trucker protests in Canada. Just like the Canadian truckers added force to their voices by shutting down the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, the convoy that is expecting to arrive in DC later this week is planning to shut down the Washington Beltway.
“The trucker protests have become a movement in defense of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and against vaccine mandates and restrictions. According to Lifesite News, it has garnered support from all walks of life: “The truckers and blue-collar workers of the United States will be joined by freedom-loving supporters from all walks of life – front-line doctors, lawyers, first responders, former military servicemen and women, students, retirees, mothers, fathers, and children.”
“Why, and how, should the community of intercessors in the United States and Canada pray about it? In and of themselves, these protest movements are laudable exercises of free speech in a democratic society that make the voice of large groups of people heard. But they have some, perhaps unintended, effects that can have long-term impact on the political, legal, and spiritual climate of our country.
“In Canada, the protests led to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoking emergency powers, and requiring the Ottawa police to aggressively quell the protests. The Ottawa police then went a step further and announced they would actively look to identify protest participants and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges. That led to a significant social media backlash accusing the police of tyranny.
“This escalation has led to two troubling issues:
1. Should a democratic government invoke emergency powers to quell protests it deems a threat to itself and set aside constitutional rights of its citizens?
2. Should law enforcement agencies be used to squash protests, overstep wise boundaries in the process, and erode the public’s trust in their everyday duty to “protect and serve” the community?
“In particular, the latter can have a domino effect of deepening and increasing the anti-police sentiment that already exists, which in turn can lead to further restrictions on their power, which can then lead to empowering criminals.
“Especially here in the US. Several major cities have seen a dramatic increase in violent crime due to, among others, police cutbacks and retirements, which are in turn the result of anti-police movements that have a demoralizing effect and have increased violence against police officers.
“I remember Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:12 that in the last days, lawlessness will increase as love grows cold. The demoralization in many of our nation’s 12,000+ law enforcement agencies, and the subsequent flood of retirements, along with difficulty recruiting new personnel, are removing the restraint on crime, and allowing lawlessness to increase. Trust and support for police and the maintenance of law and order must be restored.
“Which brings me back to the truckers arriving in D.C. with plans to shut down the Capital Beltway. It has the potential to result in more confrontations with police, some of which could turn ugly. That, in turn, has the potential of eroding the trust of many in law enforcement even further. I suspect that Satan will seek to exploit the situation in order to plunge the U.S. into further chaos and division and weaken the nation from the inside out.
“As intercessors, we are watchmen on the wall. We see the spiritual battle between good and evil behind what unfolds here on earth. Therefore, we must stand in the gap to thwart Satan’s intentions and pray for peace, order, and the presence of God at the protests.
“Keep in mind that he will fight hard, because national capitals often attract a strong demonic presence since that is where the powerbase of a country lies, where laws and policies that regulate life emanate.
“Also keep in mind that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), from where we pray in dependence on His guidance, and out of His authority above all living things, and in the victory already won by Him on the cross (Colossians 2:15).
Here are some suggestions for prayer from “Intercessors for America:”
- Pray for peace among the truckers and the crowds they attract.
- Pray that God will bind any spirit of chaos, violence, ill-will, aggression, and division.
- Pray for the message of the protesters to be clear and truthful, spoken in love.
- Pray for protection from any groups wanting to use the protests to stir up violence and aggression.
- Pray for a spirit of agreeable cooperation between the organizers and the police.
- Pray for wisdom for Chief Robert Contee III and his command staff in handling the protests tactfully, diverting traffic effectively, and protecting the good of the community.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the people assembled and incline their hearts to the Lord in repentance and prayer for our government rather than anger.
- Pray against the schemes of the evil one, that these protests and the involvement of the police will result in a restoration of trust in law enforcement, rather than further erosion.”
God of Justice, Law, and Government,
Thank you for being our judge, lawgiver, and king – our Savior and Redeemer. Thank you for those you have put in place to fairly enforce the laws of this nation. We pray against the spirit of deception in and the actions of all who are not put in place by you and, therefore, not fairly enforcing the laws of this nation. We thank you for godly men and women in all levels of law enforcement who serve and protect in many, many ways and we pray for strength, encouragement, and peace to be upon them. But we also pray that their efforts to do their jobs would be grounded in an adherence to the law and justice and a call to encourage peace and trust in and among their communities. Your Word says that governments can only continue if they are fair, so we pray for our governments and our law enforcement agencies at all levels to be fair and to be perceived as being fair. We pray against the spirit of lawlessness that has unfolded in our nation, especially over the past two years. Give us endurance and courage to continue to pray for peace and justice. Thank you that we children of the Almighty God are overcoming the world and that our faith is the victorious power that triumphs in this world. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
“And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:11 NRSV)
“…Governments only continue if they are fair.” (Proverbs 16:12 NCV)
“For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
it is he who will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22 NIV)
“You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world.” (1 John 5:4 TPT)
https://www.givehim15.com/post/february-24-2022