The Truth About America’s Biblical Foundations & Christian Revivals

There’s a growing chorus today declaring that America is not a Christian nation. Some go so far as to erase, revise, or obscure the very Biblical foundations upon which this country was built. While our history is not perfect, and our founders were fallible, what is undeniable is this: America was shaped by the Word of God.

In today’s culture, we are witnessing the systematic removal of Christian influence from public life. Prayer is pushed out of schools, Biblical values are labeled hate speech, and believers face pressure to conform or stay silent—from classrooms to boardrooms. Meanwhile, history books are rewritten to highlight grievance over gratitude, and spiritual heritage is replaced with secular ideology. As one educator put it, “If a foreign government had done to the nation’s schools what we have done, we would have considered it an act of war.”

But we must not forget: America’s freedom, prosperity, and influence didn’t develop in a vacuum. These blessings were the fruit of a people seeking to honor God.‍

The True Origins of American Liberty

When the Pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, they came not seeking personal gain but spiritual freedom. As outlined in the Mayflower Compact, they mutually agreed to build a society rooted in the laws of God. It was a declaration that their ultimate authority was the Lord.

This foundation continued to influence the colonies, and later the framing of the Constitution. While not every founder was a born-again believer, most were deeply influenced by the Bible. John Adams once wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” Why? Because they knew that liberty without virtue is lawlessness, and virtue apart from Christ is powerless.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress officially adopted the final text of the Declaration of Independence—a bold step toward political freedom. But as I’ve often said, while it was a declaration of independence from tyranny, it was also a declaration of dependence on God. In the document’s closing lines, they wrote:

“With firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

These men were not perfect. But they understood something modern America often forgets: liberty cannot long survive without morality, and morality cannot long survive without faith in God.‍

• George Washington stated plainly, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”‍
• Abraham Lincoln echoed the same Truth: “The only assurance of our nation’s safety is to lay our foundation in morality and religion.”‍
• Andrew Jackson once said of the Bible, “That book, sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests.”‍

Such convictions were not confined to the political sphere. Early colonial charters also revealed an explicitly Christian mission:

• The Mayflower Compact (1620) declared the colony was founded “for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith.”
• The Massachusetts Bay Charter (1628) sought to bring “the New World to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of mankind.”
• The Delaware Charter (1701) called for “the further propagation of the Holy Gospel.”

These were not fringe ideas. They were mainstream, foundational principles that helped shape law, governance, and culture in the early United States.

America’s Revivals: The Call to Return

Throughout history, whenever the nation departed from God, He raised up people who cried out for revival.

In the mid-1800s, America had become obsessed with wealth and materialism. Churches were declining, and moral decay was on the rise. But one man—Jeremiah Lanphier—started a simple prayer meeting in New York City. The first week, only six attended. The next week, 14. Then 23. Soon, daily prayer meetings were being held across the city. It wasn’t long before 10,000 people a week were being converted in New York alone.

That prayer revival swept across New England, up the Hudson River, and even across the Atlantic to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. More than a million people came to Christ—and the effects of that revival were felt for forty years.

Again, in the early 1900s, God stirred the hearts of believers around the world. Prayer meetings sprang up in Chicago, Melbourne, Wonsan, and the Nilgiri Hills of India. The result? Churches filled with repentant believers. Cities like Portland, Oregon, saw 250 businesses close at noon daily so owners could attend prayer meetings. Even J.P. Morgan, who tried to discredit the movement, had to admit that 80% of those converted stayed committed to the church years later.

In Wales, the revival was so widespread that judges had no cases to try—crime simply stopped. Police departments were left with no work, and courtrooms were empty.

A Nation in Need of Another Awakening

Compare that to America today:

• Approximately 3,000 unborn babies are aborted every day.
• We call perversion “entertainment,” immorality “freedom,” and sin “an alternative lifestyle.”
• The Bible is mocked, while false religions are celebrated.
• Textbooks increasingly marginalize the Christian worldview while celebrating lifestyles and belief systems that contradict Biblical morality.

As Daniel Webster once warned:

“The principles of all genuine liberty . . . are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man, therefore, who weakens or destroys the divine authority of that book may be an accessory to all the public disorders which society is doomed to suffer.”

We are witnessing those disorders in real time. But the good news is this: revival is not a myth of the past. It is a promise still available to God’s people.

In Lamentations 5:21, the prophet Jeremiah prayed, “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.” This is our prayer. Let it be the prayer of every Christian in America!

Praying for Another Great Awakening

As many seek to erase our nation’s Christian roots, there is still hope. God has always honored genuine repentance. And when His people cry out to Him, He brings renewal.

That’s why I launched AWAKE America. I believe God is calling His people once more to return to Him, repent of our sins, and recommit to Christ’s command to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

God has moved in power before, and He can do it again. But revival will not come through programs or policies. It will come through prayer, through preaching, and through the people of God rising up in boldness—no longer ashamed of the Gospel, but proclaiming it without fear.

Let us remember our true foundation. Let us repent for our sins. Let us cry out for revival. And let us live as salt and light in a land desperately in need of the Truth.

Because if God could use six people in a prayer meeting to spark a global awakening, He can use us today. All He requires is humble hearts, contrite spirits, and unwavering faith in His power to restore.

Explore More in Unite for Revival

For a deeper dive into why our nation’s spiritual foundations matter today—and how we can contend for revival in this generation—I encourage you to download my FREE booklet, Unite for Revival. It’s not just a look back at what God has done in the past, but a call to prepare our hearts for what He may yet do again.

If we understand where we’ve come from, we’ll be better equipped to pray, repent, and boldly proclaim the Gospel in this critical hour.