Letter From Bill Bright

My dear fellow Americans,  

It is with a burning heart and a great sense of urgency I am writing this.

I want to encourage all concerned citizens in our beloved country to join me in a crucial endeavor to help bring about a moral and spiritual rebirth in America. I am also writing to all followers of Jesus Christ, urging you to pray, fast, and work for a revival in our churches and for a mighty spiritual awakening across our land.

My concern is great because, according to most social indicators, we as a nation are in danger of losing our soul. Our Lord’s warning to individuals also applies to nations: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). The problems facing America are severe. Solving these problems is to us a matter of life and death for our beloved country.

Some time ago, I sat next to a stranger on an airplane en route from Los Angeles to Orlando. He was lamenting what is happening to our nation—the skyrocketing drug use, widespread crime, rampant immorality, unwise judicial decisions, and national political infighting. I listened for a few minutes, then asked, “Would you like to know why we are having these problems?”

He asked, “Do you know why?”

“Yes, I do,” I said. “Here, read this.”

I handed him my Bible and directed him to Deuteronomy chapters 8 and 28, which describe God’s promise of blessings on Israel if they obeyed Him, or curses if they disobeyed Him. These principles applied not only to Israel then, but to all nations today, especially America.

He read it. He read it again. He seemed deeply moved, as though a light had come on in his understanding. “Now I understand,” he said soberly as he handed the Bible back to me.

The same God who spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning His plans for their descendants also spoke to our Founding Fathers, such as George Washington, although certainly not in words that would become holy Scripture. Washington’s love for and dedication to our Lord Jesus Christ were demonstrated by his daily spiritual walk, including at least one hour each morning and evening reading his Bible and praying on his knees.

My dear friends, please read the above-mentioned passages from Deuteronomy as well as 2 Chronicles 7, especially God’s promise to King Solomon recorded in verse 14:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

When you fully recognize the relevancy and the urgency of these passages, you will understand why I have fasted and prayed for forty days each year since 1994, claiming by faith an awakening and revival for America and the world, which would result in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. No other spiritual discipline meets the conditions of that great promise of God’s healing like personal and corporate fasting and prayer.

Furthermore, when our Lord gave the Great Commission to His disciples, He admonished them to teach the new disciples what He had taught them. One of the most important instructions He taught them by personal example was the need for fasting and prayer. As our model and mentor, Jesus set the example for our need to fast and pray as preparation for spiritual ministry.

Only God can help us find solutions to this present crisis, the greatest our nation has ever faced. Unless He sovereignly and supernaturally intervenes, our nation shall lose its own soul, and the consequences will be worse than Russia’s revolution under Lenin and Stalin or Germany’s under Hitler.

Yours for Fulfilling the Great Commission,

Bill Bright

©1998, Bill Bright