God and government

Last month a friend of mine made a comment on his Facebook page that went like this....."Chaplain Dan Hall is wondering why the government is so important to God."  This sparked a very lively discussion on God and government.  Now you have to understand that Dan and I are on very opposite sides of the fence when it comes to several issues in today's society.  Speaking for myself, I know that Dan's opinions come from his deep faith and much prayer.  Dan also knows that my opinions have come from my faith and much prayer, probably even more prayer since I tend to have beliefs that fly in the face of much of the popular Christian beliefs.  But we both love and worship the same God.  As a matter of fact, we grew up in the same church.  Okay, so why am I talking about this here, where I've pretty much been journaling my vacation?  It's because this has to do with my vacation.  We spent much of last week in Washington D.C.  with side trips to Gettysburg, PA and Arlingtion National Cemetary.  This area is rich in our national history and heritage.  Every where we visited we saw quotes of different leaders, Lincoln, FDR, JFK, RFK and I saw God and faith mentioned in many of the quotes.  This country has been a world leader for many years, we have faced possible division and survived a civil war.  Through all of these times we have had presidents and leaders who took time to pray before acting.  We are a country of diverse faiths and values, and we have elected leaders who are very different from each other, yet each leader in times of trouble, went to God and asked for help.  Most likely, this was done privately in a quiet spot as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:6 - But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  This very action brings God into government.  We are blessed to live in a free country where we can worship as we choose.  My faith in God and in this country was bettered because of our trip to D.C.  God is good, all the time.