Warwick Marsh and Dr. Graham McLennan: "Australia Prays for America – A Long-Time Friend with Joint Destiny"

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

I want to introduce Warwick Marsh and Dr. Graham McLennan of Australia to you. Besides being amazing spiritual leaders and spiritual fathers, they are two men who have a real from-the-heart love for our United States of America.

Having spent some time on the phone with them praying for this nation, I can guarantee that what they say they are praying, they truly are praying. Please take seriously this call, not only to pray for the USA but their call for Australia to join in prayer for America.

Something very, very big is happening in Australia. We need to be also covering our brothers and sisters in Australia as well!

Let's seek the Lord together!!

 

 

We Bless America!

The National Day of Prayer and Fasting team from Australia, together with other national leaders, has called the nations of the world to pray and fast for the USA for seven days, from April 30 – May 6, 2015, which has already begun.

We in Australia believe it is our turn to bless the nation of America and pray for healing for the USA through prayer and fasting according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. We are grateful for the protection that America gave Australia and the nations of the free world during World War II. The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought by the USA in 1942, was the turning point in the Second World War for Australia. Thank God for America! (Photo via Warwick Marsh)

Without the intervention of America's armed forces, Hitler and his evil forces would have beaten the Allies in World War II. Without America's active resistance, Communism would have triumphed in the twentieth century. Those two godless ideologies were responsible for over 100 million deaths in the twentieth century. How many more lives were spared because of America's stand against evil? Thank God for America!

Each year it is estimated that America gives billions of dollars per year in foreign aid to the world from governmental, private, and faith-based institutions. People in almost all of the nation states in the world benefit each year in some way from America's generosity and kindness. Thank God for America.

The National Day of Repentance, which was held on April 30, 2015, was the 226th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration as a devout Christian president. The National Day of Repentance takes its inspiration from Abraham Lincoln's Day of "Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting" held during the devastating times of the Civil War. This Day of Repentance began this seven-day period of prayer and fasting, and concludes on May 6, the eve of the USA National Day of Prayer. God answered Abraham Lincoln's prayer and fasting in times of national crisis then, and He can do the same today.

See this video invitation to pray for America click here or on the image below:

A Family Crisis

Let me tell you a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Today our respective national houses are on fire, the alarm bells are ringing, and Everybody believes that Somebody should do something to put the fire out. In Australia and America, between a third and a half of all marriages fail. We have collectively rejected Biblical morality, which means more and more people do not even bother getting married, and cohabiting couples suffer family breakdown at five times the rate of married couples. Marriage is in crisis!

No-fault divorce with ever-increasing levels of adultery are also undermining marriage and leading to an epidemic of the fatherlessness which is crippling the next generation and leading to higher levels of incarceration for crime, higher levels of criminal behavior, drug addiction, domestic violence, increasing levels of abortion and other forms of homicide, poverty, psychological problems, a pandemic of pornography, increasing levels of child sexual abuse, increasing problems in public health, and a myriad of problems in education and in government.

Even worse, there are forces within our respective nations that want to redefine marriage. The redefinition of marriage will totally destroy marriage and lead to even greater levels of fatherlessness, family breakdown, and gender confusion. Everybody agrees that our respective nations are in crisis and Somebody should do something.

That something is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from there wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land."

The Hebrew word for humble is KANA, and it also used in Scripture to refer to times of fasting. Our respective nations need a good dose of prayer, fasting, and repentance from the fire hydrant of the water of life. Only a concerted and united campaign of prayer, fasting, and repentance can restore the Church and then the nation to spiritual health. We need revival and reformation.

America is in crisis because it has forgotten the Rock from which it has been hewn and it is falling into moral and spiritual bankruptcy. Moral and spiritual bankruptcy leads to financial and governmental bankruptcy. America is in great danger from within and without. Prophetic writer and minister Lana Vawser from Australia said, "There is a fight for the destiny of the USA right now. The destiny of America hangs in the balance. The Lord is calling His people to arise and pray for the United States of America. It is time to contend." (Photo via Warwick Marsh)

We are calling the nations of the world to join in prayer and fasting with our brothers and sisters in Christ for revival and reformation in the USA. Last year we had people from over 40 nations join with us. This year we are believing for over 100 nations to join us in prayer and fasting for the USA.

America, a Long-Time Friend

People have asked us, Why are you doing this? I wish I could say it was Australia's idea, but it was Pastor Jeffrey Daly, coordinator of America's National Day of Repentance, who first called for prayer for Australia on our National Day of Prayer and Fasting, February 2013. He asked us for prayer on America's National Day of Repentance held later that year on April 30, 2013. How could we say no?

This process of helping lead prayer and fasting for the USA has been profoundly humbling. When Steve Shultz published news of Australia's call to pray and fast for America (on Breaking Christian News and The Elijah List), they had reached 1.2 million people in a 24-hour period, which was something of an all-time record.

What has been really humbling have been the comments and the tears of thanks. Kim from Virginia, said, "I wept with thanksgiving that you will be praying for us... The announcement of your call to prayer and fasting on behalf of America was a great encouragement to me. I am a prayer warrior, but I have been weary and, at times, discouraged... I pray for Christ to be the true Cornerstone of our nation... I pray for our nation to come into its God-ordained destiny."

Laura from Texas said, "I just wanted to say thank you very, very much... Hearing people from other nations pray for mine touched a hurt spot in my heart that I hadn't even realized was there which had been caused by knowing that many people hate my nation. It was healing today for that wound to hear so much true love for the USA and I will never forget it!"

Doug Stringer, the facilitator of the Response USA, fighting back the tears, said, "I'm absolutely moved in the depths of my heart and spirit! It's a cup of cool water from across the seas to know our brothers and sisters are praying for us. Thank you to all our Aussie brothers and sisters!"

The Scripture says in Job 42:10, "God restored the captivity of Job after he prayed for his friends." America is a long-time friend of Australia. Both nations fought together in the First and Second World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, Afghanistan, and now we fight side-by-side in a spiritual battle for our respective nations. There is a restoration that comes as we lift each other up before the throne of Grace. (Photo via Warwick Marsh)

This process of giving in prayer is patterned on our Father in Heaven who is known as the giving God. The Scripture says in James 1:5, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him." We should continue to follow in our Father's footsteps and be generous in our prayers for each other.

God bless America!

Let's Pray:

Father in Heaven,

Thank You for America, home of the brave, and the land of the free. This nation has been a great blessing to the nations of the world. She has financed the preaching of the Gospel to the four corners of the earth; sent missionaries to almost all the nations of the world. We thank You for the enormous aid given to the poor around the globe. We thank You for the protection that the American Armed Forces has given freely to the peoples of the earth.

Today we stand in the gap on behalf of the nation of America and cry out for mercy. We thank You that "mercy triumphs over judgment." We thank You that You want to bless us and heal us. Jesus has made a way at the Cross and His Blood cries out grace and more grace.

Lord forgive us, Lord cleanse us, Lord heal us.

In Jesus' name we pray. AMEN.

Warwick Marsh
National Day of Prayer
Email: warwick@webshield.net.au
Website: nationaldayofprayer.com.au

Warwick Marsh has been in full-time ministry for 25 years and he is the coordinator for Australia's National Day of Prayer and Fasting. Warwick married Alison in 1975, and they have five children and five grandchildren. He is a minister of the Gospel, prayer leader, musician, TV producer, family advocate, writer, and speaker. In 1989, he and his wife Alison founded Australian Heart Music and recorded over a dozen albums. They travelled extensively throughout Australia and around the world with their musical family performing and sharing the message of Christ. From 1995-98, Warwick worked with Indigenous Australians while coordinating the Praise Corroboree, which was an annual event of 72 hours of continuous prayer, praise, and worship to God held in Parliament House in Canberra. In 2002, Warwick and Alison Marsh established the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation as a ministry to fathers. Warwick is well-known in Australia for his advocacy for children, marriage, manhood, family, fatherhood, and faith.

 

This year as we are calling people to pray and fast for the USA for seven days from April 30th through to May 6th, 2015, we in Australia believe it is our turn to bless the nation of America through prayer and fasting according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. We join together to pray that God will raise up united prayer as one voice for the USA.

Australia's Joint History and Destiny with the United States of America

We in Australia are grateful for the protection that America gave Australia and the nations of the free world during World War II.

The Battle of the Coral Sea led by the USA was the turning point in the Second World War and saved many of the South Pacific nations, including Australia, from destruction. It was on the Island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu (which last month suffered from a category 5 cyclone) that American troops were based fighting off the Japanese in WWII.

In this very place, in 1606, a Catholic Portuguese navigator, best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, proclaimed to this region to the south of Espiritu Santo on the Day of Pentecost, May 14th, 1606:

"Let the heavens, the earth, the waters with all their creatures, and those present, witness that I, Captain Pedro Ferdinand de Quiros...in the name of Jesus Christ... hoist this emblem of the holy cross on which His person was crucified and whereon He gave His life for the ransom and remedy of all the human race...on this day of Pentecost, 14th May...I take possession of all this part of the south as far as the pole in the name of Jesus...which from now on shall be called the southern land of the Holy Ghost...and this always and forever...and to the end that to all natives, in all the said lands, the holy and sacred evangel may be preached zealously and openly."

Would you believe this prophetic word was to come true as American troops protected all the islands to the south?

Serving in the military myself in the Australian army to assist our American friends in Vietnam, Australian troops have assisted in other theaters of war, including the most recent, fighting IS terrorism. While training as an army officer, one of the principles of warfare we learned was to know our enemy, indeed a principle in spiritual warfare today.

Because of the ANZUS treaty, Australia and the USA have become like brothers. God spare us from another war to bring us together again.

This week on ANZAC Day, the 25th of April, we remembered those who served our nation at war with official services, reading Psalm 23; John 15:9-13 "...Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends..."; along with the Lord's Prayer; and hymns such as Abide With Me and O God, Our Help in Ages Past. (Photo via Graham McLennan)

 

"Those Who Seek to Plan the Future Should Not Forget the Inheritance They Have Received From the Past"

It is important to remember, as Karl Marx said in his famous dictum, remarked upon by Winston Churchill (Mansfield, Stephen. Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill. p190-191. Tennessee: Cumberland, 1995.):

"One of the signs of a great society is the diligence with which it passes culture from one generation to the next. This culture is the embodiment of everything the people of that society hold dear: its religious faith, its heroes... When one generation no longer esteems its own heritage and fails to pass the torch to its children, it is saying in essence that the very foundational principles and experiences that make the society it is are no longer valid. This, of course, leaves that next generation without any sense of definition or direction, making them the fulfillment of Karl Marx's dictum, 'A people without a heritage are easily persuaded.'

"What is required when this happens and the society has lost its way is for leaders to arise who have not forgotten the discarded legacy and who love it with all their hearts. They can then become the voice of that lost heritage, wooing an errant generation back to the faith of the fathers, back to the ancient foundations and the bedrock values..."

Winston Churchill also said, "Those who seek to plan the future should not forget the inheritance they have received from the past..." and, "If the present tries to sit in judgement of the past, it will lose the future."

Not dissimilar to the words in Psalm 78:1-7:

"My people, hear My teaching; listen to the words of My mouth. I will open My mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old – things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments..."

My Personal Journey with the United States as an Australian

My own personal journey with the United States began in 1974 when we visited the U.S. to train with Teen Challenge. My wife and I and two young daughters escaped being killed arriving in Brooklyn, and later myself with gang fights in the Bronx! Again, in 1980, we returned to the U.S. for several months, involved with YWAM. In San Francisco we learned about America's Christian heritage, wondering if we in Australia had any.

During this time (April 29) we helped organize the Washington for Jesus rally. One of our members looked like Abraham Lincoln and gave addresses, even at the Lincoln Memorial. (Photo via Graham McLennan; Washington for Jesus, USA, 1980)

 

Returning home, we had a burden for our own nation, resulting in the National Gathering in 1988 where 40,000 gathered around our new Commonwealth Parliament building to open it in prayer. (Photo via Graham McLennan; National Gathering, Canberra, Australia, 1988)

Also, we began researching our own Christian heritage, publishing several books and other materials on our website (www.chr.org.au) which shows many documents, individuals, institutions, and events, such as the Christian settlement of South Australia; our Christian Constitutional Monarchy where the Queen swears to uphold the Royal law – God's Word; many explorers whose faith sustained them; the faith of many of the early governors, all who were opposed to the slavery movement as well as the inclusion of "relying on the blessing of Almighty God" in our Constitution, which also included debate about the United States of America being "A Christian Nation."

Our Christian Nations

In 1892, the United States Supreme Court determined, in the case of the Church of the Holy Trinity vs. United States [143 U.S. 457 (1892)], that America was a Christian nation from its earliest days. The court opinion, delivered by Justice Josiah Brewer, was an exhaustive study of the historical and legal evidence for America's Christian heritage. After examining hundreds of court cases, state constitutions, and other historical documents, the court came to the following conclusion:

"Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and institutions are emphatically Christian ... This is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour there is a single voice making this affirmation... We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth... These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."

We also discovered that our nation also had many Days of Prayer, as described in this article by clicking here. (Photos via Graham McLennan)

In closing, I would like to say that some Australians have been instrumental in helping America and the free world. Such is the story of a Dr. Charles Schwarz who founded the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade, which was very active in the USA in the 1960s and 70s, and who influenced people such as Ronald Reagan to stand up against Russia, seeing the walls fall in Berlin, and beyond.

We know that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We need to stand firm, keep hold of our Christian faith and our nation's Christian symbolism, such as our Constitutional Christian Monarchy where the Queen was presented with the Bible during her Coronation Service:

"...to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God
as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes,
we present you with this Book,
the most valuable thing this world affords.
Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law;
these are the lively Oracles of God."

When the Orb was presented to the Queen:

"Receive this Orb set under the Cross,
and remember that the whole world
is subject to the Power and Empire
of Christ our Redeemer."

Our Lands Need National Transformation

Our lands need nothing short of national transformation. It was a privilege to study under the most influential Christian of the last century, the great American Dr. Francis Schaeffer in L'Abri, Switzerland, in 1974. Schaeffer influenced us to redeem our culture, to think Biblically in such areas as education, media, government, business, and the family. Consequently, we commenced Christian schools, Christian radio stations, and stood with political candidates to protect family life, one of whom still remains in parliament after 34 years!

So, you can see, both America and Australia do have much in common. We both have a strong Christian heritage, and in that respect we have a joint destiny in Jesus Christ. I believe this is proven by the enormous response to the Elijah List support of the Australian-led call for the world to join together in Seven Days of Praying and Fasting for the USA. It is my belief that this destiny will be fully revealed as we continue to support each other in prayer.

May God grant it for the sake of future generations. We should not place our children on the altar of secular humanistic education and entertainment.

We need to cry out to God like the persistent widow described in Luke 18.

Or is the cost too much?

May God grant America a double blessing!

Dr. Graham McLennan
Christian History Research| National Alliance of Christian Leaders | National Christian Heritage Sunday
Email: gcmclennan@gmail.com
Websites: chr.org.au | nacl.com.au | nchs.net.au

Dr. Graham McLennan has served on many national and international Christian boards. He is presently Chairman of NACL, National Christian Heritage Sunday, and Christian History Research, a director Laef FM Vanuatu, United Christian Broadcasters Australia, as well as a member of the National Day of Prayer & Fasting team. Graham has practiced dentistry since 1969, and tutors at the CSU Dental School. He also served as a National Serviceman during the Vietnam War as a Captain in the Australian Army RAADC. He has been involved with the development of Christian media, Chairman of Rhema 103.5FM in Orange NSW for 16 years, and a foundation director of the UCB Vision Satellite radio network in Australia. Graham has published several books and many articles about Australia's Christian heritage, now placed on the Christian History website at: www.chr.org.au.

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