God Bless America?

[John81]

Referring to First Kings chapter 8 might be helpful; especially versus 33-40. Repentance comes before God moves to bless. It would be wise for us (Christians) to pray the American people would turn from their wicked ways, repent and trust Christ. At the same time we should pray we Christians will get serious in submitting our lives to the Lord, in praying for a mighty move of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of Americans and that we would example Christ to those around us.

First Kings 8:33-40

33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: 34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. 35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their citiesh; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) 40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

[JerryNumbers]

I might add, the majority of the missionaries sent out of America teach one is saved by works, water baptizing, not by faith, so most of those missionaries sent out by America are false teachers and do mot know how to teach a person to be saved. So the truth is the world would be better off without the majority of missionaries sent out by American.

One more thing, the majority of us do not use the freedoms we have to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we should.

[DennisD]

Maybe I've just not been around long enough to see but it seems to me there are so many missionaries from America that teach the right things. Our Church alone (some of you have seen the statement of faith) supports 10-12 missionaries which believe as we do. Another Church north of us supports something like 50 Churches, all of like faith. Those that teach the true word of God and are doctrinally sounds have always been in the minority (narrow and straight right?) so I'm confused on how nowadays would be different in that respect (as far as living in sin, that's another story).

Anyway, I guess my point is...are there any other countries in the world that send out more missionaries (that teach the right thing)? I guess the other side would be, are there any other countries that send out more missionaries that teach the wrong thing (i.e. Mormons).

Sin will effect all though, if a Church member sins it will or might effect that entire Church. In that regard, I can see where the sin of America will effect even the Bible believers.

And lastly, with all that said, I agree with irishman...I don't see the issue with praying for your country, leaders, etc. And I don't see the prOBlem with asking God to Bless a place with regard to His people but in all things, that His will shall be done (no matter the consequences to us).

[DennisD]

Preacher talked on this, this morning. At the end, he quoted II Chronicles 7:14 (not sure if anyone else posted it).

2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James Version)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

It seems that evil started when Christians stopped standing up for what is right. When prayer was banned from school or when abortion became rampant or when you turned on the television one day and there are swear words all over the place...who stood up? Maybe a few, but not enough. We can play a small part (each one of us) to pray and seek His face as God has told us. And if we do this we can have our land healed.

America is on the path of destruction...

If there isn't a revival soon in the US, I fear that path will soon turn into a cliff and our country will be lost to the depths.

[John81]

Preacher talked on this, this morning. At the end, he quoted II Chronicles 7:14 (not sure if anyone else posted it).

2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James Version)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

It seems that evil started when Christians stopped standing up for what is right. When prayer was banned from school or when abortion became rampant or when you turned on the television one day and there are swear words all over the place...who stood up? Maybe a few, but not enough. We can play a small part (each one of us) to pray and seek His face as God has told us. And if we do this we can have our land healed.

America is on the path of destruction...

If there isn't a revival soon in the US, I fear that path will soon turn into a cliff and our country will be lost to the depths.

Yes, as this and First Kings (and elsewhere in Scripture) tells us, we must repent before we expect to be blessed. We can rightly ask God to turn the hearts of Americans to repenetance but we can't rightly ask God to bless a wicked nation.

If America repents and turns to Christ we can rightly ask of God the blessings he promises to those who follow Him.

[DennisD]

Yes, as this and First Kings (and elsewhere in Scripture) tells us, we must repent before we expect to be blessed. We can rightly ask God to turn the hearts of Americans to repenetance but we can't rightly ask God to bless a wicked nation.

If America repents and turns to Christ we can rightly ask of God the blessings he promises to those who follow Him.

It seems that scripture is telling Christians to do those things. So, once Christians start repenting, praying and seeking the almighty's face then he'll heal our land.

That's what I got out of it at least.

[John81]

It seems that scripture is telling Christians to do those things. So, once Christians start repenting, praying and seeking the almighty's face then he'll heal our land.

That's what I got out of it at least.

We must remember that in OT times all Israel was viewed as God's people so when He called His people to repent and seek Him, He was calling the entire nation to this.

Of course we know that every individual didn't do this in the past and won't in the future. What number or percentage of a population must turn to Him we don't know, but it would have to be a sufficient number so the nation itself were to turn from wickedness toward godliness.

Also, are we really seeking the Almighty's face when we won't give up our comforts to spend time in concerted prayer, reading of the Word, study of the Word, gathering with other believers for edification and to work collectively to spread the Gospel, disciple folks, shine light in the darkness and actually be the salt?

What exactly is God calling us to? Is it just to attend church, try to be good and donate some money to a worthy cause or is He calling us to sacrifice ourselves for His purposes, to totally yield ourselves to His will, to boldly live the Gospel before all and to take the Gospel to all, to call sin sin and to call people to repentance?

What many American Christians call sacrifice, or living for God or being about God's business, Christians from some other countries call worldliness, watered down, selfish, or even a sham.

Do we truly get the magnitude of what God is calling us to do and who He is calling us to be or do we too often settle for what we think is "good enough" or what amounts to the "I'm better than most" concept?

What does God require but OBedience? Are we truly being OBedient? Are we truly even trying?

[DennisD]

We must remember that in OT times all Israel was viewed as God's people so when He called His people to repent and seek Him, He was calling the entire nation to this.

Of course we know that every individual didn't do this in the past and won't in the future. What number or percentage of a population must turn to Him we don't know, but it would have to be a sufficient number so the nation itself were to turn from wickedness toward godliness.

Also, are we really seeking the Almighty's face when we won't give up our comforts to spend time in concerted prayer, reading of the Word, study of the Word, gathering with other believers for edification and to work collectively to spread the Gospel, disciple folks, shine light in the darkness and actually be the salt?

What exactly is God calling us to? Is it just to attend church, try to be good and donate some money to a worthy cause or is He calling us to sacrifice ourselves for His purposes, to totally yield ourselves to His will, to boldly live the Gospel before all and to take the Gospel to all, to call sin sin and to call people to repentance?

What many American Christians call sacrifice, or living for God or being about God's business, Christians from some other countries call worldliness, watered down, selfish, or even a sham.

Do we truly get the magnitude of what God is calling us to do and who He is calling us to be or do we too often settle for what we think is "good enough" or what amounts to the "I'm better than most" concept?

What does God require but OBedience? Are we truly being OBedient? Are we truly even trying?

We gotta start somewhere. For how far America has fallen, any concerted effort to do as the scripture says is surely better than the path we are on.

I'm not sure I agree (at least not yet) that the scripture from 2 Chronicles cannot be used today for actual Christians (by my name). It might have been for Jews at the time but I feel God could continue that meaning to these days Christians (or His people). Maybe I'm reading too much into it, not sure.

[JerryNumbers]

Preacher talked on this, this morning. At the end, he quoted II Chronicles 7:14 (not sure if anyone else posted it).

2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James Version)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

It seems that evil started when Christians stopped standing up for what is right. When prayer was banned from school or when abortion became rampant or when you turned on the television one day and there are swear words all over the place...who stood up? Maybe a few, but not enough. We can play a small part (each one of us) to pray and seek His face as God has told us. And if we do this we can have our land healed.

America is on the path of destruction...

If there isn't a revival soon in the US, I fear that path will soon turn into a cliff and our country will be lost to the depths.

Remember, Evil started in the Garden of Eden many years ago, and its been down hill every since.


Ge 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Ge 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Ge 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Ge 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Ge 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Ge 3:6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Ge 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Ge 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Ge 3:9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Ge 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Ge 3:11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Ge 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Ge 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Ge 3:14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Ge 3:16 ¶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Ge 3:17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Ge 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Ge 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ge 3:20 ¶ And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Ge 3:21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Ge 3:22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Ge 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Ge 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The world has already been judged, God found it guilty, He has already announced the sentance, its just a matter of when it will be carried out.

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 ¶ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 ¶ Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

And from the looks of things, comparing what the Bible says about the last days, we are living in the last days.

[DennisD]

Remember, Evil started in the Garden of Eden many years ago, and its been down hill every since.


Ge 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Ge 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Ge 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Ge 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Ge 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Ge 3:6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Ge 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Ge 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Ge 3:9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Ge 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Ge 3:11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Ge 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Ge 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Ge 3:14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Ge 3:16 ¶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Ge 3:17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Ge 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Ge 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ge 3:20 ¶ And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Ge 3:21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Ge 3:22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Ge 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Ge 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The world has already been judged, God found it guilty, He has already announced the sentance, its just a matter of when it will be carried out.

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 ¶ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 ¶ Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

And from the looks of things, comparing what the Bible says about the last days, we are living in the last days.

So true, poor choice of words (that seems common) by me. I should have said the downfall of the US seems to have started when Christians became too timid to stand up for what is right. Just an opinion though. When I talk to older folks they tell me that they remember (and they aren't even really old, just older than me...maybe in their mid 50's or early 60's) when you could turn the television on and there really wouldn't be any cussing or nudity (for the most part, it's the exact opposite these days). Or when talking about Jesus Christ was not only acceptable, it was applauded and encouraged. When things started changing (no prayer in school, evolution teachings, abortion being acceptable, etc), Christians stood by and let it happen.

Now we find that America is trying to give the sin of homosexuality acceptance in the military. Will Christians in the military stand up and fight? Will I? Will we say, if you do this...we'll leave the military? Will I? Am I strong enough to get to my 14 year mark in the military and not suck it up and go 6 more years for that retirement check while serving next to openly gay service members? I really don't know. It's easy to send letters to your congressman and/or senators but it's another matter to basically throw away those years you've given to your country. I'm just going to pray that it doesn't happen because I'm scared to see how strong or weak my faith truly is when presented with that scenario.

[JerryNumbers]

Yes, I'm one of those older people.

Each generation of Christians sees that things have been getting worse than it was with the generation before them. Of course God has told us that is the way it will be.

Why I made the point that the down fall started in the Garden is to keep anyone from drawing the wrong conclusion. God has already look down and judged this earth, and what He saw, He did not like and the sentence has been proclaimed.

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psalms 14:1-3 (KJV)

1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psalms 53:1-3 (KJV)

Thanks be to God's mercy and grace shown to us through Jesus we can have a bright future even though this earth is already doomed.

Happy Memorial Day to all.

[HappyChristian]

Here's a thought that crossed my mind when reading the posts about God blessing perverse nations, etc.

Remember Sodom & Gomorrah? Those countries with putrid sin (much like our own, today)? (that so many preachers say God will owe an apology to if He doesn't destroy America...) Seems to me that God was willing to bless them...Abraham talked with God, and got God to agree (not by manipulation - remember that God never does anything against His will) NOT to destroy the cities...if there were a certain number of righteous. He narrowed it to 10, most likely because Lot had 10 in his family and Abraham hoped they were righteous (since Lot knew what was right...). Sadly, there were none. But had there been 10, there would have been no destruction. Hmmm - seems that would be blessing a perverse group. Based on just a few righteous.

So - God can bless America again. He does bless many in America. And if we were to turn to Him, humble ourselves (something that is SO hard for mankind to do - even those who are saved!) and pray, God could send revival. And God could bless America again. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I'll keep singing that song, in hopes that will happen.

[John81]

Here's a thought that crossed my mind when reading the posts about God blessing perverse nations, etc.

Remember Sodom & Gomorrah? Those countries with putrid sin (much like our own, today)? (that so many preachers say God will owe an apology to if He doesn't destroy America...) Seems to me that God was willing to bless them...Abraham talked with God, and got God to agree (not by manipulation - remember that God never does anything against His will) NOT to destroy the cities...if there were a certain number of righteous. He narrowed it to 10, most likely because Lot had 10 in his family and Abraham hoped they were righteous (since Lot knew what was right...). Sadly, there were none. But had there been 10, there would have been no destruction. Hmmm - seems that would be blessing a perverse group. Based on just a few righteous.

So - God can bless America again. He does bless many in America. And if we were to turn to Him, humble ourselves (something that is SO hard for mankind to do - even those who are saved!) and pray, God could send revival. And God could bless America again. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I'll keep singing that song, in hopes that will happen.

Holding back the hand of punishment and blessing are two separate things. A parent can have a wayward child deserving of a spanking and for some reason withhold the spanking without blessing the child.

As we see with these cities, God took the righteous out of harms way in order to deliver the ultimate punishment.

God shines the sun and brings the rain upon the just and the unjust. Those are not blessings. Simply living, or existing, even in a somewhat comfortable manner is not necessarily a blessing, but more often than not just a matter of how God has determined to deal with this world.

Where in Scripture are we told to pray for blessings upon the wicked?

Where in Scripture are we told to pray for or lead the wicked to repentance?

What does Scripture say is necessary for God to give His blessings?

[HappyChristian]

So, rain isn't a blessing? Well, if you are in a drought, you'd think otherwise...

Mercy is a blessing - and I thank God He has shown mercy toward me in many ways. Yes, God did take Lot and his girls out of the city before destruction. But He promised NOT to destroy if there were ten righteous. That may be holding back His hand of punishment, but it's also a blessing, imo. Mercy is a blessing, even if the lost just kind of get it peripherally.

I never said anything about praying for God's blessings on the wicked. But when we pray for salvation of the lost, isn't that the biggest blessing there is?

We don't lead the wicked to repentance. The goodness of God does that (Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?). And what is the goodness of God? His blessings...

The scriptures are clear that OBedience brings blessing of specific type. But blessings are all around us everyday. You can call that just living or existing if you want. I call it blessing. Because it isn't deserved by the saved or the lost, but God gives it anyway. Mercy. Blessing.

[Annie]

So, rain isn't a blessing? Well, if you are in a drought, you'd think otherwise...

Mercy is a blessing - and I thank God He has shown mercy toward me in many ways. Yes, God did take Lot and his girls out of the city before destruction. But He promised NOT to destroy if there were ten righteous. That may be holding back His hand of punishment, but it's also a blessing, imo. Mercy is a blessing, even if the lost just kind of get it peripherally.

I never said anything about praying for God's blessings on the wicked. But when we pray for salvation of the lost, isn't that the biggest blessing there is?

We don't lead the wicked to repentance. The goodness of God does that (Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?). And what is the goodness of God? His blessings...

The scriptures are clear that OBedience brings blessing of specific type. But blessings are all around us everyday. You can call that just living or existing if you want. I call it blessing. Because it isn't deserved by the saved or the lost, but God gives it anyway. Mercy. Blessing.

But, the lyrics of the song itself are not asking for "generic" blessings (rain, etc.); nor are they asking for salvation/revival. (Nations are not "saved" as a group; salvation is an individual, personal thing.) The song is asking for God's active blessing, in the way that most people would define "God's blessing," as a mark of God's favor and approval which flow from his authority. It asks God to "stand beside" America (something which is IMO unconscionable, given the reasons I mentioned before) and "guide" America (who isn't following Him at all). That's why, to me anyway, the song has no meaning.

Saying that God sends rain on the just and the unjust (a biblical truth), and that God saves sinners (also a biblical truth) is not the same thing as saying that God blesses the wicked (a statement that, to my knowledge, you will never find in Scripture; in fact, I think you'll find many, many statements to the contrary). Acknowledging that God sends rain on the just and unjust--basically, that He has set up the world and weather systems in such a way that both the righteous and the wicked benefit together (sunshine, rain) and suffer together (hurricanes, etc.)--is not the same as believing that a wicked nation who thumbs its nose at God has any business asking for or expecting His blessing and favor.