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“A Call for a Day of Fasting and Prayer”

Posted on by Carl Robbins

PrayingAt the summer meeting of Calvary Presbytery, a resolution (see below) was unanimously adopted by all the pastors and elders attending.

So, this Wednesday (August 26, 2015) we are encouraging all our members to “fast and pray”.

We will fast until our congregational meal at 5:45 PM, then we will gather for prayer, using the items of petition, confession, adoration and thanksgiving listed in the resolution.

Whereas, the June 26, 2015 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States of America opposes God’s creation mandate of marriage established in Genesis 2:18-24 and thereby greatly dishonors our Creator and Redeemer; and,

Whereas, this decision establishes as constitutional right a perversion of God’s biblical pattern of marriage and human sexuality and places the church at odds with the laws of the civil magistrate of our land; and,

Whereas, the biblical position of marriage may cause the civil magistrate to spurn the church’s name as evil, on account of the Son of Man (Cf. Luke 6:22); and,

Whereas, the Westminster Confession of Faith teaches that prayer and solemn fastings upon special occasions are an appropriate expression of corporate worship to our Lord and God (WCF 21.5); and,

Whereas, the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States will have a significant impact on the moral climate of our nation and, potentially, the freedom of the church and thereby should be considered a special occasion; and,

Whereas, the Directory for Worship of our Book of Church Order recommends that Presbyteries should determine the propriety of observing special days of prayer & fasting for larger districts (BCO 62-3); and,

Whereas, the BCO further recommends public notice should be given a sufficient time “before the appointed day of fasting…, that persons may so order their affairs as to allow them to attend properly to the duties of the day” (BCO 62-4),

Therefore, Calvary Presbytery declares Wednesday, August 26, 2015 as a special day of fasting and prayer for the congregations within her bounds to be used, among other things, to:

  • express our shame and contrition for our nation’s embracing perverse and rebellious marital relations in our land; and,
  • implore our God for the protection of his church in our nation; and,
  • confess our failure fully to embrace the covenant of marriage as expounded in Scripture and recommit ourselves to marital fidelity and love as an example to our culture; and,
  • express our thanks to our gracious God for his providential ordering of all history including the sinful decision of our Supreme Court on June 26, 2015; and,
  • ask the Lord to instill a fervent spirit of prayer in the hearts of his people; and,
  • plead with God to make effective our feeble efforts in personal and corporate evangelism, that he would be pleased to draw many sinners to himself through his Holy Spirit that thereby our churches and rulers would rightly honor and glorify him.
Carl Robbins
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Carl Robbins
Carl is a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a graduate of Crichton College and Covenant Theological Seminary. Pastor Robbins has served churches in South Carolina, Oklahoma and Nevada. In addition Carl has served on the board of crisis pregnancy centers, Christian schools and seminaries. He has spoken to college groups, medical school forums, state legislative groups, seminary chapels and church conferences. His special passion is training pastors in developing countries. Carl and wife Sandy have been married for 37 years(!) and are the parents of three believing, adult children: John and his wife DeAnna and their children (Bray, Emmie Ruth, and Maggie Grace), James and his wife Megen and their children (Jack and Lainey Janice), and Sarah and her husband Andrew Holmes. Carl and Sandy love OU football, big dogs, good Mexican food, and the beach—any beach, any time.