Dr. Dan, a religion professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, grew up in our church and married a girl from our congregation, Jeanette Martin Rodriguez, daughter of Arnold Martin. They have many family ties to College Church and consider us their "home" in many ways. All of us prayed for the health of Dan and Jeanette's grandbaby, Caleb, after he was born. Caleb is now healthy and expecting to be a big brother very soon. When Dr. Dan showed the picture of Caleb on the screen, it was to illustrate the point of "dual citizenship", little Caleb is a citizen of both China and the United States. But, for the many of us who prayed for Caleb, it was an illustration of far more--it was an illustration of God's miraculous healing power through the prayers of his people.
Which takes me right back to the original question. How should we pray? As dual citizens--of heaven first, and of the Unites States second, we need, first of all, to pray for "God's foreign policy" (Isaiah 60:1-3), that the nations will come to God's light. Dr. Dan suggested that those coming to America from other lands may be sent here by God, not to lower our property values, not to take our jobs away, but to give us the opportunity to introduce them to the love of God!
He offered a "model prayer" for us at the end of his sermon:
"May God be gracious to the College church of Christ and bless us and make his face
shine on us--So that your ways may be known in Fresno, your salvation among all the different
races and ethnic groups in and around Fresno.
May the peoples praise you, God; may all the different types of people in Fresno praise you.
May every type of person in Fesno be glad and sing for joy for you rule all who surrender and submit to your authority with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
May the people priase you, God; may all the peoples in Fresno praise you."
(Based on Psalm 67)
Will this be your prayer?
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