[Pray for] all those in authority....(I Timothy 2:1-2)

This morning when I turned on the radio to listen to Laura Ingraham, I came in on the middle of something she was sharing that was written by Eric Metaxas. It caught my attention as it expanded on my call for us to continue to pray. He also said, as I did, that the attacks on Christianity will intensify. It also looked into what I have said yesterday & at other times about the basis for our country's founding & what is needed for it to continue to exist.

So here is what he wrote along with Laura's introduction:

Through the ups and downs of American politics, it is sometimes very difficult to maintain hope for a God-centered America, where our country's Judeo-Christian heritage is respected, not insulted. Freedom without virtue is not freedom at all--it ultimately results in a self-centered chaos, where momentary pleasures give way to the reality of a nation that spends too much,parties too much, and produces too little. We demand blessings from God without listening to Him in prayer. So how to process this when all seems lost? My friend and author Eric Metaxas speaks and writes on matters of faith and policy and thought his post-election reflections were worth sharing:

Whether you voted for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, whether you're

recovering from your all-night celebration or drying the tears from

your pillow, today is a good day to heed these words of the Apostle Paul:

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and

thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in

authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness

and holiness" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Now that the election results are in, our President needs our prayers,

because he and his administration face huge, serious challenges to the

health of our nation and to peace in the world -- challenges that we

cannot overcome without divine aid.

Think about it. At home, our economy is still sluggish. We face the

so-called "fiscal cliff" and sequestration. Economists and

politicians on both sides of the aisle are telling us this would be an

economic disaster for the nation. And speaking of disasters, there is

the national debt.

Overseas, America's foreign policy seems, to put it mildly, confused,

even as Iran seeks nuclear weapons, as Islamists have either grabbed

or are on the cusp of grabbing power in countries throughout the

Middle East, and as we struggle to figure out what in the world to do

about the war in Afghanistan.

How has America come to this point? Why is our economy on the brink

of disaster? And why is our culture so utterly depraved?

Chuck Colson asked these questions the day after the last presidential

election four years ago. And his answer was spot on. Chuck cited

what Russian author Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said about the catastrophic

consequences of the Russian revolution. "I recall," Solzhenitsyn

said, "hearing a number of older people offer the following

explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: Men have

forgotten God; that's why all this has happened."

Solzhenitsyn was right. And Colson was right. The best explanation

for why we Americans find ourselves in the state we are in is that to

some extent we have forgotten God.

We have also forgotten that American democracy -- indeed Western

Civilization itself -- is the product of the Judeo-Christian

understanding of God and humanity. As Chuck said, "Without that

revelation that man is created in the image of God, our founders never

would have recognized the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness."

Make no mistake, regardless of last night's election results, the

attacks on Christianity are not going away. They will only intensify.

So we have to continue, as Chuck said, "to make a winsome witness" to

the truths of the Christian worldview, because those who would banish

Christianity from American public life are risking the very survival

of American society.

So, if your presidential candidate or your congressional candidates

won yesterday, keep the celebration short. If they lost, don't head

for the hills. We have got work to do. This is a time for Christians

to stay involved. So by all means pray for our President and his

administration. Pray for our nation. But most of all be salt and

light in a culture, in a country, that is in danger of forgetting God.

--Eric Metaxas