To the editor: On May 3, National Day of Prayer 2007, all those who believe that God is true to His Word will gather together according to 2 Chronicles 7:14, “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 heal their land.” Two very critical words in that verse are “if” and “then,” for our God will not act unless we do our part. We know that God is faithful and will do His part, but what will stir our hearts to do ours? We will remain paralyzed unless we seriously believe Him when He says that we must “turn from their (our) wicked ways.” How do we know we are wicked? In the book of Romans in the Bible God tells us that because we did not “think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them (us) over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to have been done.” What is the evidence that we are guilty of doing this? Perhaps it is the removal of prayer from our schools, taking down the Ten Commandments from the walls in our schools and government buildings, and erasing from our textbooks the role He played in the formation of our nation. The repercussion of those decisions will be visible in a whole generation of children who, without knowledge of God, will not be equipped with the morals they need to be upstanding citizens. He goes on to show us in the book of Romans just who we have become. “They have become filled with every type of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” Although written approximately two thousand years age, this is indeed a very accurate picture of our world today. Turn on your radios and televisions, read the newspaper; it is all there. How does this make you feel? Are you sad? Remember those two small, yet very important words to consider in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Without one or the other the verse is null and void. For God to do His part we must humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, repent and turn from our wicked ways. It is only “then” that God will hear us, forgive us, and heal our land. There is still time to bring revival to our nation. “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) Our nation has set a day apart for us n forbid that we should squander it. Please don’t be fooled; God will be watching. So the question I must ask you is, “What will you do with May 3rd?” Aside from serious illness or death itself is there any excuse to keep you away? We will meet in front of West Milford Town Hall at Memorial Park all day from 8 a.m. til 9 p.m. for prayer and Bible reading. There will be two formal services, one at 12 noon and one at 7:30 p.m. There is every opportunity for you to come and pray silently or with others n please just come. We also want to invite all families who have loved ones serving in the military to join us and receive our prayers. We are preparing care packages to send to all those from West Milford Township who are stationed in war zones. We are aware of some who are serving but will appreciate any additional names. United States of America, the day of reckoning is here. God has been so patient with us, but His patience will not last forever. He has a timetable to work out His plan; He will have His way. Will this be the final opportunity for us to repent? I don’t know, but I pray that we will not be so foolish as to throw it away. Remember, without the “if” there will be no “then.” God bless all who listen and obey the Word of the Lord. Helen Sedlack West Milford