“And this is eternal life … Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”

— John 17:3

How fervently do you wish for our nation to know God? Do you desire it so much that you’re willing to pray, “Oh, God, give me America, or I die.” What tremendous things God could do in this country if we all prayed that prayer.

Five hundred years ago, Scotsman John Knox, one of the great Reformers, prayed, “Great God, give me Scotland, or I die.” Knox lived at a time of tremendous religious turmoil. People confused about Christianity persecuted those who tried to spread the truth. In fact, the great turning point in Knox’s life came when he watched his spiritual mentor, George Wishart, suffer a horrible death by being burned at the stake for preaching the Gospel. From this point in his life, Knox knew that God had called him to the ministry of Jesus Christ.

And he, too, suffered persecution. Not soon after delivering his first sermon, the French, who had come ashore as part of a religious war, took Knox captive. Knox suffered the fate of a galley slave, chained to the rowing bench of a French war vessel. After managing to secure a pardon, he fled from Scotland and went to Geneva where he translated the Scriptures from Hebrew to English. From Knox’s work (along with the help of others), we received the blessing of the Geneva Bible.

At this time, Mary, Queen of Scots had persecuted as heretics people all over Scotland. And yet John Knox had the desire to bring even her to Christ. People were astonished when Knox entered the queen’s castle and challenged her with the Gospel’s truth. Those who stood nearby could not believe that Knox had no fear of a woman who had the power and desire to send him to the stake. Yet even Mary, Queen of Scots came to fear Knox and his great intellect.

Knox’s anchor, God’s Word, had held strong through his long and stormy life. What a great example to each of us is John Knox’s faith and courage in Jesus Christ. Today pray that God would give us our country, and that more and more people would give their hearts and souls to Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord for courage to do your part in bringing salvation to this nation.

“Here lies a man that never feared the face of men.”
King Of Scotland (When Knox Died)