This is a guest post from a longtime friend of mine, Mena Yousef.   Mena is a graduate of the Public Administration program at George Mason University and has over 12 years of experience in technology and emerging markets.  You can follow Mena on twitter@menayousef.  And if you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”  (Psalm 33:12)

NOTE:  This is a follow up to Fr. Anthony's 4th of July post, "A Call to Prayer" by Ben Franklin.  If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you check it out.

In Ben Franklin's prayer at the Constitutional Convention, you could see that he was a man struggling to find answers. And he also knew that if he didn't call upon the Lord's help, they would have been right back at square one.

When I first read that prayer, I thought about America's current struggles and thought to myself: "Every single word that Ben Franklin uttered can be said today."

Franklin and the rest of the founding fathers were in a pickle. Their prayers and genuine cries for help to the Lord paved the way for the birth of a nation.

God truly blessed them. And in turn, they blessed God by injecting Him into the foundation of America.  

At this point you're probably thinking, "How is it possible for me (measly old me) to bless God? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

Well I think that blessings are a two-way street. Franklin and the founding fathers blessed God by (1) having the humility to know that they couldn't build a new nation without asking for His help; and (2) using Christian philosophy as a basis for America's laws. That's a blessing to our Lord!

For His own children to remember Him during a critical time and include His wisdom in America's framework blessed God because, like I mentioned, we are His children, and nothing pleases a father more than to be honored by his children.

"I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." (Psalm 34:1-2)

Look at it like this: when people ask us how many kids we have, what's the typical response we usually give? "Oh I'm blessed with 3 kids...", etc. You don't think God feels blessed when we call upon Him? Or just blessed just based solely on the fact that we exist?

So back to our humble founding father, Ben Franklin and that key question he asked at the convention. It's a question that can be posed today, 218 years after those words were originally uttered:

"And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend?  Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?"

We are at a turning point in American history, where we're turning away from the blessings God and our founding fathers gave each other back in the late 18th century. Now, more than ever, America needs God's blessings, and in turn, we have the opportunity to not only sustain, but also strengthen the foundation our country was built upon.

I pray that this great nation finds that humble path once again. And I hope you join me in seeking God's blessings on all of us, as we yearn and cry out to return the favor.

God bless America. And may America bless God.