THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE PHILIPPINES by Father James Reuter, S.J.

By her own admission, GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) rightfully assessed
that over the last decades; our republic has become one of the weakest,
steadily left behind by its more progressive neighbors.' Forty years
ago, we were only second to Japan in economic stature, and way ahead of
Singapore , Hong Kong , Malaysia , and Thailand . Today, at our present
growth rate, it will take us 30 years to get to where Thailand is.

1. A population of 160 Million;

2. Of those, 70 to 90 million (equivalent to our current population)
will live below the poverty line;

3. Our national debt is estimated to be at US$200B (compared to US$28B
when Marcos fled, and US$53B today);

4. We will be competing, not against Thailand or even Vietnam , but
against Bangladesh ;

5. We will be the most corrupt nation in Asia , if not in the world
(we're already ranked 11th most corrupt nation by Transparency
International) ..

The signs are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path
of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack of effort.
We've seen many men and women of integrity in and out of government,
NGOs, church groups & people's organization devote themselves to the
task of nation-building, often times against insurmountable odds.

But not even two people's revolutions, bloodless as they may be, have
made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, we have moved one step
forward, but three steps backward.

We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people,
can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual
realm. It's time to claim GOD's promise of healing of the land for His
people. It's time to gather GOD's people on its knees to pray for the
economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation.

Is prayer really the answer? Before you dismiss this as just another
rambling of a religious fanatic, I'd like you to consider some lessons
we can glean from history.

England 's ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a
spiritual revival fueled by intense prayers.

The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the
most powerful nation today - a strong faith in GOD and a disciplined
prayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning
points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.

In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in
the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today,
led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation
when other economies around it are faltering.

Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here
there is genuine humbling & seeking of GOD through prayer, moral
reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general
prosperity. YES, we believe prayer can make a difference. It's our only
hope.

Today, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from all over
the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery and moral
reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only ask for 5
minutes of your time in a day, to fwd this email to your close friends
and relatives.

This is the kind of unity which can make a big difference. Of course, if
you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be more
involved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center.

We have tried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short. Maybe
it's time to try prayer power. GOD never fails. Is there hope? YES! We
can rely on God's promise, but we have to do our part. If we humble
ourselves and pray as a people, GOD will heal our land. By GOD's grace,
we may yet see a better future for our children.

'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 sins, and will heal their
land.'(2 Chronicles 7:14).