VICTORY FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH
31 DAYS OF PRAYER: DAY 1
Written By Rev. Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
Founder and President of Thread of Hope, Inc.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17
The name of Jesus Christ is the only name that can save us and set us free.
The very First Amendment that upholds the freedom of religion and speech is under attack. It is a great privilege and right that is given to every American or Alien to be able to express our opinion without government control, fear of prison, or death. Now, we are being held hostage by organizations and governmental officials that say we cannot exercise these freedoms. More than 700 journalists have reported press freedom violations in the last three months by the Press Freedom Tracker. Social media has restricted our very right under the Constitution of the United States of America to voice our opinion or preach the Word of God as it was meant to be preached. This Bible verse is very clear, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” No wonder Satan wants this abolished, destroyed, and removed from our country. I cannot help but think about Daniel in the Bible. When the government officials wanted to shut him up. They creatively came up with the same idea. A decree that would prevent Daniel and the rest of the Jews to worship as they once did. It almost cost Daniel his life. He was thrown into the lion’s den.
I love this story because God not only saved Daniel from the lions but also a new law came into place. Look at it with me. “Then King Darius wrote this letter to all the people from other nations and language groups all around the world: Greetings: I am making a new law. This law is for people in every part of my kingdom. All of you must fear and respect the God of Daniel. Daniel’s God is the living God; he lives forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed. His rule will never end. God helps and saves people. He does amazing miracles in heaven and on earth. He saved Daniel from the lions. So, Daniel was successful during the time Darius was king and when Cyrus the Persian was king,” (Daniel 6:12-28). Can you say, “Glory! Alleluia?” Let me tell you something. God is still the same Spirit we opened this devotional with. That Spirit, the living, breathing, powerful, awesome, amazing, and supernatural Spirit is alive and well. And where the Spirit is there is freedom. The United States of America still has the First Amendment. It has not been removed, and it will not be removed. The Spirit of God dwells in us. We are free indeed. Today we will come together on our knees as Daniel did -unafraid, unashamed, and unapologetic.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we fall on our knees, and we lift our voices to YOU. We declare and proclaim VICTORY. God, we know you will deliver us from this attack. Freedom of speech and religion is our right. We have been blessed in this country to be able to express our voices, and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ without boundaries. As this worship song says today, “Even if it gets me convicted, I'll be on my knees with my hands lifted, if serving you is against the law of man, if living out my faith in you is banned. Then I'll stand right before the jury.” This is what Daniel did thousands of years ago. We will do the same. You will deliver us, too, and we believe and declare victory over the Church of Jesus Christ. Freedom is ours because it is YOUR SPIRIT that is inside. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Praise & Worship: Guilty By Newsboys: https://youtu.be/Dq1-lX9U95I