Pray Instead. By Sara Cain.

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”– Psalm 90:12 NIV

As I sit here writing this blog, I am overwhelmed by the fact that I have been on this planet for three-quarters of a century. Today I turned 75 years old. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and self-reflection these past months, and I’m truly thankful that I was born in 1951 and got to live during this time in all of history.

I look out at our world, our own culture here in the U.S.A. and weep for the generations to come because it seems they will never experience what I have experienced.

When I graduated 8^th Grade at age 14, I was well-educated.  I knew the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution by memory, had passed tests on the contents of the Constitution regarding definitions and applications. We were taught facts, concrete concepts, not opinions.

By the end of that year and heading to High School, I understood the design and many details about the human body and how remarkable it is. Even though public school did not give God credit for His genius creation, it did teach us to respect and revere it, and how to take good care of it. Again, facts, not opinions or deceptive rhetoric.

By this age, I was well versed in classic literature, had a command of the English language through reading and writing, knew proper English from colloquial dialects, etc. I probably could have written a book well enough to publish by today’s standards. Math was most challenging to me, and yet, I could compute math that was necessary for my life quickly in my head.

History was my favorite because it came alive in my head, like watching movies as I read the stories. I came to understand through my teachers’ guidance the why’s of many events, and how to put them into perspective to build a better future.

I say all this to contrast the exceptional education we received in those decades as opposed to the failing education system we have today that has exchanged fact teaching and critical thinking skills for social engineering.

The most important thing my teachers taught me was how to use the intelligence God gave me.

I didn’t know my teachers’ political or religious beliefs because they didn’t share them with their students in the classroom. What they did share was the most valuable lesson of all: to love learning, and how to learn by questioning, analyzing, and testing information; to learn by exercising our own brain rather than just repeating mantras and ideologies of the teacher or system. I was taught to explore and determine the difference between facts and opinions, between ideas and emotions.

Unfortunately, this is no longer being taught in our public schools. For longer than most people realize, our students, having impressionable minds and compassionate-but-naïve hearts, have been held captive under the influence and authority of a morally corrupt system. Without strong moral influence of parents or churches, they will be lost to this moral cancer.

We are living in a time of spiritual warfare, where evil doesn’t even hide anymore, but flaunts itself in our faces.  I am now living in an atmosphere of strong opposition to everything I believe is valuable and sacred.

Having a passionate nature, it’s a challenge for me to guard my heart and hold my tongue.

As 2025 was drawing to a close, I prayed, asking for “my word” for 2026, and Holy Spirit gave me this:

Pray Instead.

While the “pray” part wasn’t something new, it’s the “instead” attached to the word prayer that is profound. God demands that I surrender my passionate feelings and my tongue to him. He loves me enough to discipline me to keep me from causing harm to myself and others in regard to  relationships and physical stress.

Pray instead.  

When I see, hear, or read words or actions that distress me, that unchecked causes my temper to boil over, before I utter a word or move a finger to react, I am to  INSTEAD stop and pray.  Pray INSTEAD of reacting… not just pray, not just pray first, but pray INSTEAD, meaning that prayer is where it ends and peace begins.

Instead of hurting others with my tongue or causing division among family and friends.

Instead of possibly (or probably) causing unbelievers to discount my testimony, turn away from ministries I’m involved in, perhaps impacting Hearts Being Healed Ministries and Neighborhood Church.

Instead of sounding and looking like the general masses who don’t know the love and mercy of Jesus and salvation, like those who are not walking in the Light.

Praying for situations is always good. Praying for wisdom and self-control is always good.

But what God is telling me is to pray specifically for the heart of every unbeliever.

Including those who cause me distress. Even those who my flesh heart wants to hate.

Pray for hearts to be changed because that is the only way that culture will change.

Politicians, policies, generic prayer for our country aren’t the answer. It’s only individual hearts that are changed from believing and acting on the lies from hell into believing in and living for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that will change our country and culture back to a biblical-based society and heal our land.

It’s so easy, because it’s so human, to react negatively rather than to intentionally stop, listen and act according to Holy Spirit’s guidance. We need to stay in that place of abiding in Jesus that we talked about last week, so that we can pray instead of reacting in the flesh.

Psalm 90 was written by Moses, who God referred to as His friend. It is considered the oldest psalm in the Bible, likely written during the Israelites’ 40-year wandering in the wilderness. It’s a solemn, reflective prayer focusing on the shortness of human life, the eternity of God, and asks for wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 that I began this blog with is beautiful in The Passion Translation…

“Help us to remember that our days are numbered, and help us to interpret our lives correctly. Set your wisdom deeply in our hearts so that we may accept your correction.”

I’m 75 years old. I don’t want to live another day wastefully or anxiously, but instead to live my days passionately for God and His Kingdom rather than living in reaction to the evil around me. When my buttons get pushed, my feelings get triggered, my nose gets pushed out of shape, I want to be that friend to God as Moses was and PRAY INSTEAD of ranting and reacting. Each day I have left is a call to prayer for the unsaved, and for God’s Will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

When harsh laws are passed … riots break out … economy tanks … these things that create fear … may we PRAY INSTEAD of giving into fear and give it to God before allowing negative thoughts to be aroused.

This is not to say there isn’t a time to speak up and take action. God commands his people to stand on truth, spread the gospel, to love mercy and justice,  to defend the defenseless. Holy Spirit will guide you into what He calls you to do regarding political and cultural public responses. But that’s a topic for another time. Today is about our personal spiritual response to the cultural and political chaos around us.

PRAY INSTEAD.

Pray for the salvation of every politician and cultural icon and influencer.

Pray for our lost and unsaved citizenry.

Pray for believers who are caught up in controversy or struggling personally regarding their allegiances, or like me, controlling their tongues.

Pray instead of ranting.

Pray instead of arguing.

Pray instead of worrying.

Pray instead of stressing out.

Pray instead of reacting to what the evil one flaunts on the public stage.

Pray. Because the only remedy is Jesus.

Change will only come through changed hearts.