Interview with Ravi Zacharias

Family North Carolina Magazine—September/October 2008

On Air With . . .
Ravi Zacharias is one of the world’s leading Christian apologists. He has spoken all over the world and at numerous universities, including Harvard, Princeton and Oxford. He is president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia, and the author of several books, including Jesus Among Other Gods, and The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists. Dr. Zacharias has addressed the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, and the United Nations. In 2008, he served as the honorary chairman for the National Day of Prayer.

The following is an edited transcript of an interview with Dr. Zacharias conducted by Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council (NCFPC). The interview aired in May 2008 on the NCFPC’s weekly radio program, “Family Policy Matters.” Dr. Zacharias discusses his involvement with the 2008 National Day of Prayer, and the importance and power of prayer to our nation’s future.

This interview can be heard in its entirety here: Listen (.mp3) — (Real)

Bill Brooks: What led you to get involved with the 2008 National Day of Prayer?

Ravi Zacharias: Well, I remember when Shirley Dobson gave me the call to ask if I would be this year’s honorary chair for the National Day of Prayer. It was an honor, and of course I’m keenly aware that the nation right now is facing some extremely tough decisions and the culture is in chaos and of course we’re going to the polls to elect a president with all of this. Few things if anything are as important as prayer, and so I was honored to be asked to play that role.

BB: Would you say that Christians have a Biblical duty to pray for our nation, and are there examples of similar initiatives in the Bible where God’s children came together to pray for their leaders and their nation?

RZ: Yes, I believe that it’s not only the Biblical duty but an exhortation that we pray because time and time again in the Scriptures, we see the privilege given to us. We’re told in Chronicles that we are to humble ourselves and come before God and pray. We remember . . . how Nehemiah said the first thing he did was that he called upon the Lord to pray before the move even began back, and then after they came back, the first thing Ezra did was to call the people to pray. When the temple was completed, Solomon called on the nation to pray, and the Lord Himself, just before Calvary, took the time alone to pray. And we are exhorted repeatedly to pray for our leaders and those in authority over us.

BB: How important is prayer to the future of the United States?

RZ: I think it is that indispensable responsibility that God has given to us, Bill. It is something that Ronald Reagan said that if we do not take this privilege and responsibility seriously, we will no longer be a nation under God, but we will be a nation that’s gone under. And I see the threat that is there before us right now as a very real threat. It is a little bit like the way we deal with our physical health. The things that are most important sometimes are the things that are unseen. How you deal with your private life, how you deal with the disciplines with the kinds of food you have and so on? We like quick fixes. We’d rather have the surgeries that correct it all, and yet preventive care and health care are lifelong patterns and disciplines, and I believe that is what God is calling this nation to when He calls us to prayer. It is recognizing the sovereignty of God in our lives. It recognizes our dependence on Him. It recognizes that our own hearts are fragile and weak, and that it doesn’t matter how strong we are militarily or economically, if we are not strong spiritually, we will fold as a people. His delight is not in the strength of a horse or in the legs of a man. His delight is in those that fear Him.

BB: It seems that when many people think of prayer, including many Christians, they tend to view it as sort of laundry list for God. What do we mean by Biblical prayer? Is there a specific way that Christians are commanded to pray, particularly when it comes to praying for our nation and its leaders?

RZ: Yes, the laundry list approach is something that we so easily take. It’s a case of one petition after another, more like a slot machine. You put in the right coin and press the button, and out pops up what it is we really desire for the moment. That is not the heart and core of prayer. Prayer is not so much seeking the will of God with our interests in mind as much as it is aligning our will with His will for what He has in mind, and in the process, there is a submission and a shaping of character and spiritual strength that then makes us in a condition to receive God’s will, no matter what it may be. And the soul is shaped in prayer. The way I like to put it is this: your faith will carry you. If you’re not a praying person, you will have to carry your faith, and you’ll get exhausted trying to carry it.

BB: What about praying for our non-Christian leaders, those who are not following God’s law in terms of the decisions they are making or the policies they implement? Are we commanded to pray for them, and if so, why?

RZ: Yes, I believe we are. In Romans, we are told to pray for all in authority, and if you remember that Nehemiah when he prayed, he was actually in the Persian palace at that time. He was in exile. When he went to see King Cyrus, he prayed to the God of heaven that the king would give him favor in his sight, and in the end it was the Persian king that paid for the re-building of the walls of Jerusalem and gave letters for Nehemiah to go. It’s the same thing that happened with Daniel when he was praying for Nebuchadnezzar that God would give him favor. So when Elisha came and he was dealing with Naman (the Syrian), Naman asked that he would pray that the king would give Naman favor, and these were unbelieving kings they were talking about. So prayer shapes even the resistant heart, and it all coalesces into the will of God. So there are several examples in Scripture of praying for monarchs who themselves did not know the Lord. We are commanded to do that.

BB: What do you believe to be the greatest threat facing America today from within?

RZ: I think the greatest threat facing America from within is our entire indifference to the ideas that shape this nation and made this nation possible… The second, I think, is the radical relativism in the media and the academy that so distorts reality, and gives you a materialistic framework and a relativistic framework from which to order your lives. I think those two forces—the educational forces and the media forces today—because I travel a lot. I see so much. I just got back three days ago from an Asian tour of several countries. What I see the news reporting, and the way they report it for the most part (there are exceptions of course, and thankfully they’re there) is so ideologically driven and colored that we need to be very careful how we go to the polls, how we vote, that we vote with wisdom and truth in mind, not the ideological bent of those that are themselves trying to engineer the process.

BB: You are from India and you’ve traveled all over the world, living for a time in Canada and then settling in the United States. You could live anywhere in the world, but you choose to call America home. Why?

RZ: Great question Bill, and I think that is not difficult to answer. One of the great things about American life is that it gives you the privilege to succeed and to rise again when you fail. It is the spirit, an enterprising spirit, and the true spirit of freedom that enables you to do what your skill and what your calling is. But in America, there are checks and balances placed. It was the moral fiber that was equally important. I’ve chosen this to be the land where I make my home and raised my family because of all the privileges and constraints that are put in place in the way the nation was founded. So as much as I’m at home in many other places, this is home now. The city of Atlanta is home with my family. This is where I choose to live, and I’m honored to call it home. I don’t know if we as Americans realize what a distinct blessing we have and how much we have with which we are called to share with those who do not have as much. So the privilege of succeeding, doing well, rising when you fall, and sharing the goodness of God in the world with those who do not have it, I think that’s what gives me the privilege of calling this home.

BB: What suggestions do you have for our listeners as they prepare to pray for our nation in the coming months as we approach the election season?

RZ: I think the first thing I would say to them is be daily in prayer about how you are going to vote, and the privilege [of voting] should be taken. It is a God-given privilege in this nation. I think the second thing I would say is listen very carefully, not just to the attractiveness of what is being said, but the reality of what is being promised and what is being offered. The greatest threat to America today is its very existence. I have absolutely no doubt that America’s future is really in the balance because there are people with the will and the individual empowerments to create havoc in this nation and take away the possibility of the way we lead our lives. And so when we talk of freedom, when we talk of investment, when we talk of economy, as important as they are, they are secondary to the existence of this nation. So as we look to leadership, while all the other matters are real, they are secondary to our existence, and I would say to elect leadership with the fact in mind that we as a nation are being threatened right now in terms of our very survival.

BB: What tips do you have for parents who want to teach their children about the importance of praying for our nation and prayer in general?

RZ: When Jesus was asked what the kingdom of heaven was like, he didn’t look to the philosopher, he didn’t look to the politician, he didn’t look to the power brokers, he didn’t look to the rich. He took a child and placed a child in the middle, and he said such is the kingdom of heaven. So the effective fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much, the Scriptures say, and a child prays with genuine innocence, and so they should teach their children how to pray and nothing is more beautiful than the Lord’s prayer itself. And so if you will teach them to pray, let them pray for wisdom, let them pray that God will lead the nation to make the right decision, and if they will pray with the kids and encourage the kids as parts of little groups, whether it be in the church or whether it be in school or whether it be to gather in the neighborhood community or whatever, encourage them to take this challenge and responsibility. . .

BB: Would you comment about making prayer a part of your daily life as you go through the day?

RZ: Yes. I believe it is very important to do that. Prayer is not an emergency mechanism we put into place. In fact, if they log on to the website of the National Day of Prayer, they will see various suggestions that I have given about how to pray in seven cycles each day, which really leads them to all the important institutions in the country, whether in the home, in the church, or in the leadership, or in the education, whatever, how to focus on these areas that become very important in day to day living. So I would say, yes, that prayer that is prayed should be not an emergency prayer, but a lifestyle and a pattern of prayer that is taken on day-to-day. It should be a pattern and a lifestyle. When Jesus said, ‘give us this day our daily bread,’ interestingly enough he didn’t say give us for a month at a time or go to the grocery store and bless everything before you buy it. It is a daily thing. It is a disciplined thing. It is a momentary thing, and I think a pattern of a lifestyle of prayer should be established by everyone.