But what are we asking with these words?

First, by addressing it to "God," we personalize it. We acknowledge a Creator, a Higher Power, a Divine Being. We rightly shatter the falsified wall that attempts to go beyond a healthy division of church and state and strives to create a stridently secular state. By asking God to do something, we first and foremost recognize our human limitations and desperate need for supernatural intervention to guide us to liberty and protect us from evil.

Second, we invoke an awesome action called "blessing." Jesus Christ, the greatest teacher of life and love, once outlined the true meaning of blessing and revealed to us exactly who could receive it.

"Those who walk in humility will be blessed," he said. Pride, arrogance and self-righteousness cannot, by the pure nature of God, coexist with God's blessing.

Those who have a broken heart, who care for others and show mercy will find themselves in a position to receive God's blessing. Though we are imperfect, fallen creatures, we can still hunger and thirst for Godly righteousness, cleanse our hearts and minds, and work for peace. In doing so, we allow God to pour out his blessing upon us.

It is important to understand that bringing justice to evil-doers and protecting the innocent works in favor of peace. Pacifism merely allows chaos and tyranny to reign. Like a surgeon aggressively pursuing a cancerous tumor, a just and righteous nation will remove the evil that seeks to destroy its people.

The master teacher also said that we are blessed when we are persecuted or attacked for doing what is right. Evil men do not like their plans disrupted and will always distort the truth so that they may continue plotting death and destruction.

We're also told that we will be blessed if we are light and salt, meaning that we show the right way to live by our example. When we allow that light to shine, we become a bright city set on a hill where the world can see the path to peace and prosperity.

Logically, when we engage in attitudes and actions contrary to these principles, we remove ourselves from the possibility of blessing. If we are self-absorbed, uncaring, greedy or deceitful, we cannot expect any Divine favor.

Finally, when we ask this blessing upon America, or any nation, we seek something not merely for ourselves, but for our fellow man. Before the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, God promised Abraham that he would spare the impending doom if only ten righteous men could be found. Though the vast majority of the people deserved anything but blessing, God was willing to extend it to the whole population on behalf of a single person.

We know that there will always be evil among us even in our own communities but the grace of God allows even a small group of us to request His blessing on everyone, if we will only position ourselves to receive it.