A man stopped at a gas station; after filling the tank of his car, he paid for the gas and bought a soft drink. He stood by his car and drank his cola as he watched a couple of men working along the roadside. The first man dug a hole three feet deep and then moved on to dig the next. The second man came behind the first, filling each hole that had just been dug.

The men worked right past the fellow with the soft drink and went on down the road. “I can’t stand this,” said the man. He tossed the can in the trash and headed down the road toward the men. “Hold on,” he said to the men, “can you tell me what’s going on here with this digging?” “Well, we work for the government,” one of the men replied. “But as one of you digs a hole the other one fills it up. You’re not accomplishing anything. Aren’t you wasting the People’s money?” asked the puzzled man. “You don’t understand, mister,” one of the men said while leaning on his shovel and wiping his brow. “Normally there’s three of us — me, Sam and Jesse.  I dig the holes, Sam sticks the trees in and Jesse here puts the dirt back. But just because Sam’s sick, doesn’t mean that Jesse and I can’t work.”

When leaders are bickering over whether or not those who serve on the front line should be paid and if senior citizens should receive their checks in a timely manner, we need more than a heated and drawn out debate, we need prayer. The Apostle Paul specifically instructs us to pray for leaders and those in authority that they might lead the nation with wisdom and justice in order for us to live in peace and godliness. When we begin to pray, we can cause government to stop digging holes and refilling them without progress. Why? The answer is obvious. Prayer is definitely a political action. In fact, prayer is a sustained and intricate act of patriotism. It creates social energy.

Prayer shapes more of the lives of our nation than can be formed through legislation. God says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The single most important action that we can actively do to determine the health and strength of our nation is prayer. This is not the time to criticize or to sit idle, but it’s time to pray!