Now more than ever…

Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.
Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
~Joel 1:14-15

Dear Preachers of Repentance and Christian Warriors:

“Repent” was the very first word Jesus preached. It’s the key to come into His Kingdom. It’s a privilege and a vital spiritual discipline to purify as a member of His royal priesthood. The Risen Christ calls each of us daily to be zealous to repent so that we can overcome and sit on His throne as He overcame and sits on His Father’s throne. (Revelation 3:19-21)

The need for personal and national repentance has never been more obvious. We need the help of the Lord to resolve our problems in every nation. His strategy needs to be followed: IF His people called by His name humble themselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven, forgive sin, and heal a land. (2 Chronicles 7:14).

In the United States April 30 has, since 2011, been proclaimed by a growing number of believers as a “national day of repentance” for several reasons: it was the day George Washington “so help me God” was inaugurated in 1789; it was the day set aside by Congress and President Lincoln in 1863 for a “National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer”; it was the day picked by Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield for the same purpose in 1973; it precedes the first Thursday in May, the National Day of Prayer each year. Placing repentance before prayer is a prerequisite for God to hear our prayers. And this year a call has gone out for a National Day of Worship on April 29, the day before this day of repentance.

April 30 is a Sunday and the hope is that many pastors and priests will use that key sermon time to preach and allow actual time for repentance. (A format for a repentance service is on the website: www.dayofrepentance.com under Resources/Scribd documents.)

The Body of Christ, His Bride, will be activated. Repentance preachers will surface. Across denominations and boundaries, believers from other nations from Australia to India to Malawi will join us, interceding for us in their own repentance time and prayers that Day.

Join me in repenting for the many problems we see within our nation, but these three, in particular, are on my heart this year:

Repent for spending more time in the world than being still with Him (Psalm 46:10)
Repent for failing to open the door more often to let Him come in to dine with me (Revelation 3:20)
Repent, as passionately as Daniel and Nehemiah, to confess my sins, my family’s sins, and my nation’s sins. (Daniel 9: 1-19, Nehemiah 1:1-11)

May “repentance” be spoken among us, more than ever. Please pass the word. Join many of us in this and in other nations, on Sunday, April 30, to take time to follow the Lord’s call.

He’s knocking on the door of our hearts wanting to dine with each of us.

God Bless you,

Pastor Jeff

Pastor Jeffrey Daly
Founder/Director
National Day of Repentance

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PRAYER: Holy God of Heaven and Earth, we humbly acknowledge our many failings both personally and nationally. Lord, may we not continue to take your grace for granted. Forgive us for our arrogance when we habitually practice presumptuous sinning which your Word calls “great transgression.” Please help us to see ourselves in the warnings within your Holy Word and not falsely think “thank God we are not like those other sinners.” On a national level, help us to realize that the worst holocaust in the history of all mankind, abortion, remains a monstrous and evil stain on our nation’s soul. Remind us that the “sanctification of perversions” is not some ancient temple practice but is currently being instituted throughout our land by lawless and godless judges with our tacit apathetic approval. Forgive us for thinking we can remove You and Your commandments from our public square through a false doctrine of “neutrality” and still retain all the blessings of Your favor and protection. Last, but not least, let us not betray Israel by insisting that they have their land divided. If we support the division of Israel, we become a Judas betraying The Throne of David working with the forces of darkness against Your Sovereign Kingdom. Fill us with a reverent and holy Fear of the Lord, a certain knowledge that what You say will always come to pass regardless of the plotting and strategies of mankind. Remind us that wise men still seek You and pour themselves out at Your feet because You are the Treasure we should seek. We pray this prayer in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Name above all names, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. ~ Amen