National Corruption

Hopefully, God is now beginning to grant your request the way He granted Jabez’s petition. Keep up the prayers. God listens and answers when we pull the trigger to His promises. But, today, we want to consider the prayers of a whole nation. Perhaps you live in one of those countries where the national corruption is off the charts. We need to know what God’s mind is so that we will learn how to pray for our nations.

National corruption results in hardships for ordinary citizens who do not actively participate. Notice that we speak of actively participating because the Bible indicates we are all participants, even if passively. All who live in a corrupt nation suffer, even if you are wealthy. With your wealth, you can provide power, water, great housing, a measure of security, and so on.

However, when you leave home, the prevailing corruption catches you with bad roads and traffic jams, for example. So this national corruption concerns everybody who lives in such societies. You may wonder what this has to do with God’s promises. It is because God made promises to whole nations. Take the example of this promise in Jeremiah. In it, God had this to say.

“The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.  And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.”

God’s Mind On National Corruption

From the passage quoted above, it should be evident that no nation is permanently blessed. In the same way, no country or group of people is cursed forever. It is all about pulling the triggers. If you find and pull the triggers for blessings, God will bless your nation. If, on the other hand, you activate cursing, national corruption will result. God, in His infinite mercies, blesses every nation with beneficial items. It could be mineral resources, human resources, or morality.

Several Asian countries do not have national corruption, not because they worship the God of Heaven, but because of morality. The other day, we landed in Hiroshima, Japan. At the airport, a fine gentleman bowed slightly to greet us with both hands clasped in front of his face. If that is the general behavior, such a country will be free from national corruption regardless of whether they pray. Compare that with the attitude in a corrupt nation, even one that prays fervently.

Other countries have natural resources but squander them because of national corruption. People who live in those countries should understand what they need to pray for. Otherwise, the corruption will grow worse. Listen again to what God said in our earlier passage. “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.”

Learn How To Pray For Your Nation

The nations endowed with natural resources are in this category. God promised to build them up and gave them what was necessary. But the instant such a nation does not obey God’s voice, God relents concerning His good intentions. That is when national corruption blows into the open, and citizens begin to suffer.

What is God saying to you who live in a country with national corruption? God loves all His creatures, so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. He also blesses each nation with resources of all sorts. So, if we suffer, it is not from God; it is usually from our leaders. So, what can you do about your particular instance of national corruption? Pray, but not that God should bless your nation. He already did that by giving you the necessary resources.

Instead, starting today, pray for righteousness to reign in your land. The bible says that righteousness exalts a nation. It also asks what you can do if the foundation (of the country) is destroyed (by unrighteousness). And please, as you pray, add a clause “beginning with me.” The nations that experienced spiritual and economic revival had prayer warriors like us. But they always added that the righteous movement should begin with them.

Righteousness Combats National Corruption

Am I willing to be righteous by coming to Jesus Christ and remaining in Him? Am I willing to practice righteousness and depart from evil? Then, I can pray against national corruption by asking for righteousness in others. Please note that righteousness is more than refraining from physical evil. How are my thoughts toward you? Am I thinking evil about you while smiling at you? If the answer is yes, I cannot pray against national corruption, and the suffering will continue.

May God help us be truly righteous. God will teach us to pray for our nations the right way. It is then that the first part of God’s promise will come to pass in our lives. God promises in Jeremiah 18.7-10, “the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.” May we all turn from our evil, individual and national, in Jesus’ name.

Maranatha!