Desperate Prayer for Our Land
E.A. Johnston passionately calls the church and nation to urgent, desperate prayer for revival and mercy in the face of coming persecution and spiritual decline.
In this prophetic sermon, E.A. Johnston urgently calls the church and believers to awaken from spiritual slumber and engage in desperate prayer for America. He highlights the growing hostility toward Christians and the likelihood of coming persecution, urging the church to prepare through revival and repentance. Drawing on historical examples, Johnston offers both a sobering warning and a hopeful plea for God's mercy and revival to transform the nation.
Full Transcript
You are a pastor and you are within the sound of my voice and you have heard this message and the other messages of this conference and you do not heed the warnings and do not act on them. I feel sorry for you. If you fail to recognize the danger and urgency of the times in which we live, if you do not rouse your people to pray and lay hold of God in holy desperation, I feel sorry for your people for having such a sleepy shepherd.
And if you are a believer and you've been confronted with this message and hear the other messages at this conference and you do not prepare your hearts and do not prepare your families in the days ahead, I feel sorry for you for what faces you in the coming days. All of us speaking at this conference have strong convictions and believe that persecution is coming to the church in America. We have come here to warn you of the things to come.
We are not prophets. We cannot look into the future, but we can read the signs around us. Just pick up the newspaper if you don't believe the climate of hostility towards Christians is growing worse every day in this country that we live in.
Listen friends, my Bible says, the night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. The hour is late friends, the time is urgent.
We should all be on our faces crying out to God to have mercy on America right now, right now to delay is deadly. Perhaps God in his mercy will send a mighty revival to America to prepare the church for the coming persecution or perhaps revival will emerge out of the ashes of persecution when it comes to America. But either way, God will get the glory.
God will get the glory. America needs revival. The church in America needs revival.
There's still hope for America if we seek God in desperate prayer. I hope this message has been of some help to you today. Let us pray.
Oh God, have mercy upon us, Father. Have mercy upon America. Forgive us, great God, for our national sins.
Forgive us, almighty Father, for the corporate sins of your church. Forgive us for our laziness in prayer. Forgive us for our spiritual bankruptcy and impoverishment.
Oh God, I can look and see what's coming around the corner to this land and I pray, Lord, in your wrath, remember mercy. In your wrath, remember mercy. And I pray, oh Lord, that you awaken your bride, that you rouse her from her slumber, that you awaken her, oh God, and bring a mighty revival and an outpouring of your effusions of grace upon her now.
In your mercy, Lord, I pray for that. You sent revival in times before terrible times, Lord. You sent a mighty awakening to America before the Civil War through the great prayer revival, the businessman's revival of 1858.
You saved literally tens of thousands of young men before they died on the battlefields of this land. You're the God that does such things. I pray you move as you have moved in former times for our day, for your glory, and for your dear name's sake and your dear precious son's sake, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Sermon Outline
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I. The Urgency of the Times
- Recognize the growing hostility toward Christians
- Understand the spiritual danger and urgency
- The night is far spent, the day is at hand
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II. The Call to Desperate Prayer
- Rouse the church from spiritual slumber
- Pray for mercy on the nation
- Confess national and corporate sins
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III. The Hope of Revival
- God can send revival before or after persecution
- Historical examples of revival in America
- Trust God to glorify Himself through revival
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IV. Preparing for Persecution
- Warn the church of coming trials
- Encourage spiritual readiness
- Depend on God’s mercy and grace
Key Quotes
“If you fail to recognize the danger and urgency of the times in which we live, if you do not rouse your people to pray and lay hold of God in holy desperation, I feel sorry for your people for having such a sleepy shepherd.” — E.A. Johnston
“The hour is late friends, the time is urgent.” — E.A. Johnston
“In your wrath, remember mercy. In your wrath, remember mercy.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Commit to regular, desperate prayer for your nation and church.
- Awaken spiritually and encourage your community to prepare for challenging times.
- Confess personal and corporate sins to seek God’s mercy and revival.