On September 17, 1939 the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Stalin helped defeat the Nazis, but it was not with the intention of freeing the Polish People. Under communist rule, 150,000 Poles were massacred and thousands tortured and imprisoned.
The long years of oppression ended when the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991 and the last of the USSR troops left Poland in September of 1993. However, the beginning of their liberation came with a spiritual awakening sparked by the election of John Paul II as the first Polish Pope in Catholic history.
On June 2, 1979, when the world watched Pope John Paul II speak in Victory Square, Warsaw Poland, it was a prophetic moment foreshadowing freedom for the Polish people.
While John Paul II was giving his sermon, the crowd erupted in a chant of “We want God! We want God! We want God!” Millions of Polish citizens were moved not only by his words, but also by the response of the audience. “We want God” reverberated across Poland and resonated in the hearts of its people.
On July 6, 2017, President Donald Trump spoke to the Polish people, recalling John Paul’s speech. Mr. Trump said, “Every communist in Warsaw must have known that their oppressive system would soon come crashing down. They must have known it at the exact moment during Pope John Paul II’s sermon when a million Polish men, women and children suddenly raised their voices in a single prayer…‘We Want God!’”
“…We can still hear those voices that echo through history. Their message is as true today as ever. The people of Poland, the people of America, and the people of Europe still cry out "We want God."
Is that the cry of America? Do we in fact want God? Many of us do. It is indisputable that American courage and resilience have been rooted in Christian faith since the pilgrims arrived on this continent. George Washington believed that without the Providence of God, he could not have led the colonies to victory in the Revolutionary War. On March 3, 1787, Mr. Washington wrote:
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morals are indispensable supports…And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion…[R]eason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle…The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
Some Americans still agree with this sentiment. Many do not. The question we face today is whether the moral disposition expressed by President Washington and other Founders will prevail. Or will we experience the cultural degeneration of other once-great nations?
The cry of “We want God” is the plea for a nation governed by self-evident truths rather than politically correct lies. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union entered a secret agreement before WWII to divide Poland between the two countries. After the war, this truth was suppressed.
There are forces at work in America which seek to deny truth and reality in order to usher in their version of a brave new world. Do we really want God? Some clearly do not.
Christians who dare voice the belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman are being fired from their jobs and losing their businesses. The clear message is, “espouse Christian values at your peril.”
In this atmosphere, many pastors engage in self-censorship for fear of being booted off television and radio or having liberal media, politicians and even their own church members attack them.
It is not merely the government we must guard against. This descent into the madness of totalitarianism is being led by individuals and institutions of cultural influence. They are the new “thought police.”
What is needed to combat this threat to liberty is an army of courageous pastors, churches and Christians reclaiming their role as the nation’s moral thermostat, setting cultural standards rather than submitting to them.
The Polish people realized there was a deep spiritual sickness – a cancer – invading their nation. Politics could provide limited relief, but not a cure. Americans must awaken to this truth. “We want God” is the cry for a Christian Awakening to transform the American heart. Therein lies the key to our freedom, our children’s future and our destiny.
E.W. Jackson is a Republican political analyst; a nationally syndicated radio host on American Family Radio & Urban Family Talk; founder & president of S.T.A.N.D. [www.standamerica.us]; Presiding Bishop of The Called Church, and was 2013 Republican nominee for Lt. Governor of Virginia.
