Root 52 Covenantal Declarations

As we continue to move forward with the Root 52 National Prayer Strategy, we ask you to consider making these covenantal declarations along with the Root 52 Proclamation that was released for national prayer throughout the year. You might consider printing these declarations and decreeing two statements each day, which would take 7 days; then just repeat it each week throughout the year. This will also help get the truth of a biblical world view based on God's covenant principles for nations into our hearts and minds.

These declarations were drawn from statements of faith made by founding leaders and institutions—statements based upon the principle of precedence—covenantal precedence. The quotes were taken from a book entitled, One Nation Under God: America's Christian Heritage.

“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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

The first official act of the Continental Congress in 1774 was a call to prayer. Therefore, we call our nation and the Congress of the United States of America back to that place of humbly submitting ourselves as a government and as a nation to be a people of prayer, repenting and seeking favor and divine guidance from the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe.

We declare that the United States of America is returning to “the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient.” Samuel Adams, known as the Father of the American Revolution, made this statement as the Declaration of Independence was being signed.

In 1777, the Continental Congress ordered the importation of 20,000 Bibles for the American troops. We declare that our nation is returning to the Bible, the truth of God’s word, and that it is the plumbline that sets the foundation upon which our nation is built and upon which our decisions are made.

We declare that our nation will humble itself with thanksgiving, recognizing from Whom our blessings flow and to Whom we owe our establishment as a nation. In 1780, the Continental Congress issued another proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer.

Our Declaration of Independence was not a declaration of independence from God but rather a statement of our continuing reliance upon His divine protection. Therefore, we declare that our nation will return to our recognition of God as Creator, to the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”, to the justice and righteousness mandated by Him, and to a firm reliance on the protection of “Divine Providence”.

Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous 19th century French statesman, historian, and social philosopher, traveled to America to discover the reasons for its incredible success. He said there was no other country in the world where the Christian religion retained such great influence. When he sought for the key to our greatness, this is what he discovered: “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.” Therefore, as the church, we repent and cry out to God, asking forgiveness for allowing this flame to die out in the pulpits of America, for allowing our influence to wane. We also declare that America will only be as great as the Church is great in the sense of conformity to His will and purposes and in being aflame with His love and passion. We call our nation back to our Christian foundation and to the greatness that He has planned for us.

We agree with the statements made by Benjamin Franklin in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention “that God governs in the affairs of men” and “except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.” We declare that God is the basis of all government and that Jesus Christ is our Judge, Lawgiver, and King. Our founding fathers based the formation of the three branches of government upon this scripture in Isaiah 33:22. We agree with this covenantal statement that we will return to the Supreme Architect of the universe recognizing Him as the cornerstone of all we build and yielding to His plans for us as a nation.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation appointing a National Day of Fasting and Prayer and stating that the Senate of the United States devoutly recognized the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and nations. We declare that our nation will again humble itself in fasting and prayer and that dormant seeds of truth and light will spring forth from the Senate of the United States and this governing body will again recognize and acknowledge His Supreme Authority.

James Madison, known as the father of the U.S. Constitution and the 4th President of the United States, believed Christianity to be the foundation upon which a just government must be built. He said, "we have staked our whole future upon our capacity for self-government based upon the Ten Commandments of God." Therefore, we call the Church and the people of this nation to awaken to this Biblical principle of “self-government”. We call this nation to humble itself before our Redeemer who writes His laws upon our hearts. We declare that the Ten Commandments of God will again be venerated by us as a people, will be respected in our classrooms, governmental offices, and even in the highest courts of our land.

Joseph Story, Supreme Court Justice, stated in a speech that Christianity lay at the foundation of Common Law. Therefore we declare that our laws are founded and established upon the Lawgiver—Jesus Christ. We call our nation back to the laws upon which it was established and declare, according to this and other historic facts, that our nation was built upon the principles of Christianity. In a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1892, it was stated that “our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind.” It declared, “Our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.” We set ourselves in agreement with this 1892 ruling of the Supreme Court and declare that we are a Christian nation! This is not based on man’s failure or on our present condition but instead upon the existence of these foundational truths.

When George Washington delivered his famous Inaugural Address in 1789, he acknowledged that every step by which we had advanced to the character of an independent nation was due to God’s intervention and orchestration. Therefore, we acknowledge as the Body of Christ that this nation only exists and continues to exist because of God’s intervention and His hand upon our affairs. We thank Him for His continual intervention and for His discipline lest we fail to exist as a nation. We declare that God who birthed this nation is Lord over it! We give Him glory and praise for continuing to sustain us, to correct us, and to move us into a place of seeing His kingdom come and His will done in and through us.

Daniel Webster, orator and famous American statesman, declared that our forefathers were brought here “by their high veneration for the Christian religion.” He said they sought to impinge and diffuse its influence through all their institutions—civil, political, and literary. We repent for withdrawing into the arena of the church and losing our effect as “salt and light”. We declare that the purposes of God in bringing Christianity to this land will not falter and fail because of our lack of obedient influence, prayer, and fortitude. We pray for another Great Awakening that will fan the embers of Christianity in all our institutions. We call for an awakening to the Holy Spirit of God in every segment of our society—the church, family, education, business, government, media, entertainment and the arts.

James Madison said that before any man could be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe. Therefore, based upon this and many other statements that only righteous leaders could be elected to public office, we call for the voters of this nation to choose wisely—to choose those whose lives are based upon Christian principles of morality and righteousness. We declare that Americans and primarily the Church will awaken to our responsibility to elect men and women to office who will stand on the principles of the Word of God and will acknowledge him in their private and public lives.

When the Pilgrims penned the Mayflower Compact before establishing the colony at Plymouth, they stated that it was to be undertaken by God’s Sovereign leadership and commissioned for the advance of Christianity. Therefore, we call this nation back to its foundation and call this people back to our reason for existence. We are not here to be prosperous or powerful or to fulfill the American dream. We are here because God sovereignly established us here for a divine purpose—the advancement of Christianity. According to Acts 17:26-27, we proclaim that He has determined our preappointed times and the boundaries of our dwellings so that we should seek the Lord, find Him, and live and move and have our being as a nation in Him!

Compiled by Roger and Charlotte Merschbrock, USRPN - Louisiana

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