Flag Day 2020

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Those few words say volumes to those of us who love America and the flag that represents this nation. We believe we are a nation established by God for His Divine purposes. The Pilgrims landed on these shores and covenanted the nation to God with these words, “…Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid.” Our flag is a physical representation of those words.

Every President since the day to honor the flag was established have made proclamations and speeches honoring this symbol of American freedom. Here are two comments:

President Woodrow Wilson on establishing Flag Day, June 14, 1916, “I need not remind you how much sentiment has been poured out in honor of the flag of the United States. Sometimes we have been charged with being a very sentimental people, fond of expressing in general rhetorical phrases principles not sufficiently defined in action, and I dare say there have been times of happy and careless ease in this country when all that it has been necessary to do for the honor of the flag was to put our sentiments into poetic expressions, into the words that for the time being satisfied our hearts. But this is not a day of sentiment. This is a day of purpose. [Our flag] is an eloquent symbol of the unity of our history… Apparently, this Nation is again and again and again to be tested, and always tested in the same way. The last supreme test this nation went through was the test of the Civil War. You know how deep that cut. You know what exigent issues of life were at issue in that struggle. You know how two great sections of this Union seemed to be moving in opposite directions, and for a long time it was questionable whether that flag represented any one united purpose in America… And you know how that ended. While it seemed a tune of terror, it has turned out a proof of the validity of our hope… As I see the winds lovingly unfold the beautiful lines of our great flag, I shall seem to see a hand pointing the way of duty no matter how hard, no matter how long, which we shall tread while we vindicate the glory and honor of the United States.”

And in 2007, President George W. Bush said, “The American flag represents freedom and has been an enduring symbol of our Nation’s ideals since the earliest days of our nation. Wherever it flies, we are reminded of America’s unity and the great cause of liberty and justice for all.” 

I ask a question now as we ponder, as did Benjamin Franklin long ago, our symbol of national unity, “We have freedom in this republic today, but can we keep it?”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Blessed are the people he has chosen as his own.” (Psalm 33:12; GWT)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

  • Intercede for this nation with great passion and conviction, asking the Lord to preserve our nation.
  • Pray into the current attempts to divide our people. Consider the seriousness of past conflicts, especially the Civil War, and how the Lord was faithful to sustain us. 
  • Pray into the many threats against us and how the Lord has delivered us from them all. Flag Day began during World War I when global powers threatened to overtake us. God preserved us then and can preserve us now.
  • If you have a flag, hang it out today.
  • Here is a website with lots of ideas to help our children understand and honor the flag of the United States of America. 

A prayer you can pray:

God, thank You for bringing our forefathers to the shores of America. I believe You established this nation to be a covenant nation with You and that our citizens are to be continuously reinforcing and reminding You of that covenant. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under You, God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Our nation is in great conflict today. It is not a battle between people groups and ideologies. It is a spiritual battle. The enemy does not like it that we are a nation in covenant with You. He has always sought to divide us and this is one more season of that. He is trying to rip us apart, but we don’t believe You will allow that to happen.

We want to be those that stand firm for a United States of America. Our flag is a symbol of that unity. You have preserved us through much. You have preserved us through wars, even a Civil War. You have preserved us through many seasons of internal strife. We have managed by Your grace to continue on through it all, and our flag continues to fly over us as a testimony to that fact. Forgive us our national sin and heal our land as we humble ourselves and pray for national unity and preservation again. We need a miracle, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Today’s decree:

Honor the flag of the United States of America, our national symbol of freedom and unity.