A couple things before we pray together. First, The Lord is not done with America. The Spirit of the Lord has impressed upon this servant that we are to go all in over the next two years praying for America and walking in His ways. Two, pray for the gift of prophesy. That gift is not just for "pastors" or priests, it is for every believer and the Lord God told every one of us to pray for that gift above all others. Why?
The Lord is now doing a new thing:
Isaiah 43:19.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
The force of the verse is in the present tense. Not “I will eventually do something new someday.” The Hebrew is closer to “Look—I am already doing it. It is already springing up. Are you seeing it?” God is speaking to a people still in Babylonian exile. The wilderness and desert are not metaphors in the abstract; they describe their actual condition. No obvious path home, no visible water in a dry place. And into that reality He says the new thing is already underway.
Two things stand out in the surrounding context (Isaiah 43:16–21):
- He deliberately tells them not to fixate on the former things—the Exodus, the Red Sea, the old acts of deliverance. Those were real, but He is not limited to repeating the past. The new thing will be different in kind: not a path through water, but water in the wilderness.
- The new thing is not merely for their comfort. It is so that even the jackals and ostriches will honor Him, and so His people will declare His praise. The wilderness becomes a stage for His glory.
This is the pattern Scripture keeps returning to. The new thing rarely looks like the old thing scaled up. It often looks, at first, like more wilderness. The way and the rivers appear where there was none, not where we already expected them. Perception itself becomes the issue: “do you not perceive it?” The same reality that looks like desolation to natural eyes is already the place where the new thing is springing forth.
For anyone in a season that feels like wilderness—health limitations, career transitions, delayed promises, the slow work of claims and waiting, the gap between what has been and what is coming—the verse does not first ask for better strategy or more effort. It asks for perception. Eyes that can recognize the new thing while it is still in the springing-forth stage, before it is obvious.
In Christ this becomes even more concrete. The ultimate “new thing” is not merely a better set of circumstances but a new creation: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The wilderness is no longer only a place of waiting for external deliverance; it is a place where the new life is already present and active, even when the external landscape has not yet changed.
The practical question the verse leaves is simple and searching: What would it look like, right now, to perceive the new thing God is already doing—rather than only measuring the remaining wilderness?
The Lord is turning a corner here and we are to follow Him. We spend the next two years focused on solutions, not problems. The solution to our problems exists in bodily form in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. Seek first His Kingdom, everything else will take care of itself.
Now let us pray for America:
Father in heaven, we come before You today on behalf of the United States of America. You are the God who rules over all nations, and every throne is subject to Yours. We thank You for the freedom and blessing You have given this land, for the sacrifices of those who came before us, and for the opportunity to still call upon Your name.
We ask for Your mercy over America. Forgive us where we have turned away from You as a people. Cleanse us from pride, from division, from the shedding of innocent blood, and from every form of injustice. Raise up a standard of righteousness in our cities and in our homes. Let the church in this nation wake up and return to first love, walking in faith, hope, and love that is pure and true.
We pray for those who lead. Grant wisdom, courage, and integrity to every official at every level of government. Surround them with counselors who fear You. Protect them from deception and from the schemes of those who oppose Your ways. Raise up leaders who will honor You, defend the weak, and seek justice that is true.
We pray for the people of this land. Comfort those who are anxious or afraid. Strengthen families. Heal what is broken. Pour out Your Spirit in a fresh way so that many will come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Let light push back the darkness. Let truth be spoken clearly. Let love be shown in actions that honor You.
Guard our borders. Protect those who serve in the military and in law enforcement. Keep our children safe. Give us peace within our borders and wisdom in our dealings with other nations. May we be a people who acknowledge You in all our ways.
We stand in agreement with each other over all these things we ask. We stand in the gap for this land, that it will not be destroyed and plundered but instead it will be built up and prospered. We believe we have already received what we have asked for in prayer. We give thanks for it now, we rejoice over it now.
Above all, we ask that Your kingdom come and Your will be done in America as it is in heaven. Use this nation for Your glory. Let Your people be salt and light. Fill us with faith, hope, love, joy, and peace. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and to walk in the center of Your will. May America turn to You again, and may Your name be exalted from coast to coast.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
