August 21, 2012 – Allen and Diane Lake
As Montana USRPN coordinators, my husband and I recently had the privilege of preparing the Montana FastForward prayer guide for our state’s week of prayer. One of the specific things I felt the Holy Spirit said was to pray against corruption in places of government and to pray any corruption that exists be exposed. I have seen many other state prayer guides contain some form of this prayer target as well.
In addition to praying for our state governments to be free from corruption, I believe we also have a responsibility to pray against corruption in our national government. Individually, of course, we answer to God for our own choices and decisions, but we also know the state of a nation’s affairs has an effect on all its people. (Prov. 14:34)
For some time, the Holy Spirit has been quickening us (and others who we know hear the Lord) to pray against corruption in the high levels of our federal government. Joshua chapter 7 contains the well-known story of Israel’s defeat at Ai and how the hidden “sin in the camp” affected the nation. It may sound extreme, but we believe we have both heard and had confirmed by other prophetic voices that shocking levels of corruption exist at high levels in our government. If this is true and we understand God’s heart for our nation, then we will also realize that this corruption matters. I believe God will expose the corruption in one way or another (Num. 32:23), and sooner is always better than later.
One recent dream I had allowed me to experience the nature of corruption from God’s perspective. In this dream, I was walking along a type of path, similar in some ways to an underground tunnel, where something very horrible had taken place.
I experienced no sense of personal threat or danger in this dream and eventually came to the end of this path-like tunnel. There, I saw high-level government officials getting ready to board an aircraft, and I understood two things. The first was that a high-level official was responsible for the horror that had occurred. The second was that many under this person’s authority knew of the crime and had chosen to cover it up.
I believe the purpose of the dream was two-fold: to communicate to me the level of disgust, revulsion, and evil with which the Lord perceives corruption and to reconfirm to me that shocking levels of corruption do exist in our nation, that they are being covered up.
I am asking you to please join us, and many others, to pray. As we pray, we can use the guidelines of scripture to help us. There is a spiritual battle going on for the soul of our nation; we must be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. (Matt. 10:16) May the Lord bless you as you pray.
Scriptural points of prayer and reference:
1. Before the end comes, the Son of Man will appear to separate the nations one from another; the sheep nations will be on His right hand and the goat nations on the left. (Matt. 25:31-46) We must contend for the destiny of our nation as a “sheep nation.”
2. We are in a spiritual battle, and we must put on the whole armor of God. (Eph. 6:10-20) Pray with special attention to verses 16-18. By taking up the shield of faith, we can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (16). By using the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, we can pray specific scriptures over this situation (17). By praying always, we can be watchful and persevere (18). Notice that verse 18 mentions “praying… in the Spirit.” These are excellent days to increase our time spent praying in our prayer languages!
3. Corruption spreads. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” (Gal. 5:9) Pray using Luke 12:1-3, which says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”
4. Remember that the Lord invented posterity. Pray and declare over our nation from Psalm 22:27-31 – that we shall remember the Lord, and turn to Him (27), that He will rule over our nation (28), and that a posterity from our nation (all those even yet to be born) will serve Him and declare His righteousness (30, 31).
5. And finally, with the Lord, mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). Pray for the Lord’s mercy upon us, as it is His kindness, even in judgment, that leads us to repentance. (Rom. 2:4)
While it is true that one bad apple can spoil the barrel, it is also true that salt preserves. Lord, increase our savor, that we might be the salt and the light that preserves this nation. (Matt. 5:13-16)
Diane is a writer, speaker and minister ordained with both Christian International and Generals International. Her articles are regularly featured on The Elijah List, as well as platforms like Charisma Magazine, Charisma News, Intercessors For America and others. She and her husband, Allen, co-founded Starfire Ministries with a vision to see the kingdom established beyond the four walls of the traditional church. They host a podcast with Charisma Podcast Network, and serve as Church Mountain, Regional, and Montana Coordinators for the Reformation Prayer Network, and as Media Mountain Leader/Facilitators for C.I.’s Culture Influencers.
