Tiffany Peters, National Day of Prayer Coordinator, awarded Megan Norris, center, first place for her essay and was given a $100 check, while Clay Choate was awarded a $50 check for second place. Below is Norris’ essay she wrote to receive first place honors.

by Megan Norris

Even in the earliest of times, prayer and fasting was of utter importance in the American society. Jesus thought prayer was so important that the Lord’s Prayer can be found twice in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke. A biblical key to a breakthrough in our prayer lives is to join our fasting with prayer (J. Mark Copeland). If we as America would rely solely upon prayer and fasting, our nation would be much more intriguing, successful, and beautiful economically and physically. What if His people prayed? People would humbly seek his face, instead of turning to major stars that think they can handle any situation, like Oprah and Dr. Phil. Furthermore, we live in a world of ‘have-to’ instead of ‘get-to’. We ‘have-to’ go to church, but really, we ‘get-to’ go to church. Church is primarily the place where foundational prayer and fasting is set. However, church is not the only place where we can pray, and it is not the only place where we can decide to fast; we have the freedom to pray openly and fast freely. We have the freedom to ‘get-to’ pray and fast; we don’t have to.

The Lord honors commitments made by those who deeply and sincerely put forth an effort in the area of fasting. We fast so that when our humanly bodies starve for this world’s crumbs, our Heavenly Father fills our souls with the Living Bread, so that we fill ourselves with Christ. In the American society, prayer and fasting should be on the top of the list of things we need. We need more people willing to give up just a few moments out of their lives for the betterment of our society. For our country to be “One Nation Under God,” we have to simply follow Him. We have to have that alone time with Him in our everyday lives to learn and to grow, and when praying isn’t enough, that’s when fasting comes into effect. The American society as a whole is in an economic down slide. It isn’t at its peak for economic growth, and with our international debts arising, the only true way to break through is to believe in God, pray that He alone will bring us through this, and fast because we need more of Him in our lives.

“I can live forty days and nights without a single bite to eat. I can live for hours and hours at a time without a drop to drink, and I can hold my breath for minutes at a time. But, I can’t live a second without hope in my life.” (Newsong).These words from the song “Hope” by Newsong tell us that God is the Hope in our lives. We cannot live without hope. We will not endure or accomplish anything without Christ. “Hope is my oxygen, the food that feeds my soul; Jesus quenched my deepest thirst, and Jesus made me whole.” (Newsong). Being able to withstand these crucial conditions of no nutrition in our lives tells me that Our Father alone can do anything. For we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. (Phil. 4:13)

The few people in our nation who have helped to carry us this far as a nation have helped tremendously. However, they alone cannot do it all. We are the United States of America because we are to unite as one. Until every citizen realizes that our society could be so much better and that God could richly bless us more than we are, we will not succeed at anything. Until America starts turning to God and quits turning to Hollywood for the answers, the battles we struggle with throughout the world will always be an issue. If we do the simple necessities, there is no way that God won’t move our country out of our crisis.

In Isaiah 58, we can see that we can expect the following results if we trust in Him through prayer and fasting:

-Heavy burdens will be lifted.

– The oppressed go free.

-Health springs forth speedily.

– The Glory of the Lord will protect us.

– The Lord will guide us continually. (Charles Spurgeon).

Through all the words that could be shared, all the lyrics of songs that could be expressed, and of all the verses in the Holy Bible that could be shared, we must pray and fast for one simple reason alone: Jesus gave His all for us. We are to give our all to Him. He gave His life for us and didn’t think twice about it. What would it hurt just to take a few moments out of our lives to thank Him? Each and every human being on this earth should thank Him and not be so selfish within our everyday lives. We are all so caught up in the world of ‘self’ rather than the world of ‘others.’ I was told once by a very intelligent individual, we are to have “JOY” in our lives. We are to put Jesus first; others second, and yourself last. JOY. If Americans alone would listen to others and lend each other companionship, the world in all would be a much safer, happier place to live. Give thanks to the Lord, His love endures forever. We should all cry out:

“Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6: 9-13)

Works Cited

Copeland, Mark J. “Fasting and Prayer: KEY TO BREAKTHROUGH.” precious-testimonies.com. 1998. Web. 12 April 2011.

Spurgeon, Charles. “Prayer and Fasting.” The Basics and Benefits of Fasting. hungryheartsministries.com. 2003. Web. 12 April 2011.

Newsong. Lyrics. “Hope.” Give Yourself Away. CD. HHM Records. 2010. newsongonline.com. Web. 17 April 2011.

King James Version Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments. National Publishing Company. 1978. Print. 19 April 2011.

The role of prayer and fasting in American society