Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
by Gene Royer

March 1, 2003

"You need to ask God to intervene in the lives of your enemies." (Matthew: 5:44)

Admittedly, I paraphrased it, but you can read it for yourself if you care to, as it is one of the greatest *political* statements ever made by a leader--and one which, if obeyed, could solve 100-percent of the world's problems.

When it is suggested that we pray for our enemies, conservatives and liberals alike bristle because it seems to be contrary to our own personal and national needs. Yet, that is what the great man said we should do.

Of course, that great man was Jesus the Christ, whose leadership was so keen and his victory so powerful that it offers all mankind redemption from a life of eternal destruction. Forgive me for waxing Biblical, but that is what every pro-football in-zone-spectator banner seems to be about. (John: 3:16)

Jesus said we should pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. Well, that pretty well defines the word enemy in my book.

When Bill Clinton was in office I considered him an enemy because of his subversive and immoral values, and I often prayed that prayer on his behalf. Now, in these trying times, I find myself doing the same for the tyrant Saddam Hussein. I ask God to intervene in Hussein's life--because with divine intervention comes justice and tranquility for the righteous. That's me--and this nation as a whole--in case you missed it.

Now, the liberal will read this with a doubtful smirk and immediately play the same old "Gott Mit Uns" card that they always do, reflecting back on Hitler's bold declaration that God was with them. They will point to it as a reason that religion and politics should not be mixed. Their smirk will then turn to caustic oratory as they say, "Obviously God didn't help the Nazis--so it was a fruitless prayer."

My response is, "Why so?" Why is God not able to intervene in the lives of both the righteous and the unrighteous at the same time? Hitler prayed for God to intervene in his life and the lives of his ministers, and I firmly believe that he got his prayer answered. God is not a God of evil, but a God of righteousness; therefore, God's intervention took the Nazi regime to its just end--exactly as the prayer requested.

The United States is a nation blessed in spite of its human foibles and overt disobedience to God's commandments. The Creator has demonstrated His Grace toward us and held us up not simply as a political and economic leader, but as a spiritual leader as well. If you doubt that we are, consider that one small church in the rinky-dinkiest little rural town in Texas gives more money to the mission field for the furtherance of Christianity than all of the Muslim nations combined.

As George W. Bush so aptly put it, "The Liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world. It is God's gift to humanity."

We cannot afford to leave God out of the equation. Divine intervention is more important than all the men and arms a nation can muster. If you can't bring yourself to pray for Saddam Hussein, at least ask God that His gift to humanity be continually forthcoming.