Retracing America’s Covenant Roots

“I have tapped into the root of mercy.” That moving phrase rang forth from Dutch in the dream of a Colorado intercessor. Just 3 days prior to the tour, while watching the Appeal to Heaven Conference online, a prophetic pastor in Missouri saw coins raining down all around Dutch. On each coin was imprinted the word MERCY. While standing ankle deep in coins, Dutch looked up and said, “Mercy is our new currency.” Fulfilling a prophetic word to visit 7 cities in 7 days, our team embraced the language of mercy as we traveled the east coast, retracing the covenant our forefathers made with God in the founding of America. It reminded me of the movie National Treasure – swiftly moving from city to city, visiting significant monuments and markers, depositing prayers and declarations on our covert mission. As in the scene where the adventurers find the gold and stand in awe, we found the root of mercy at Penn Treaty Park in Philadelphia. We will never be the same.

By the Lord’s design, every stop on our journey held unique revelation as we symbolically reached back into history and joined our voice with the generations of the past. In each city we would take communion, pour salt and oil as a symbol of covenant and mercy, place coins as a prophetic symbol of our new “currency” of mercy, and decree God’s divine purposes for America.

At Cape Henry the commitment of Rev. Robert Hunt was renewed, that “From these very shores the Gospel shall go forth to not only this New World but the entire world.” The team read aloud Isaiah 32:1-8, believing that when righteous government is in place, the Word of the Lord can run swiftly through the land, be understood, and glorified.

It was a solemn honor to pray at the Robert Hunt Memorial in Jamestown, where the birds began singing loudly as we prayed. We were witnessing all creation crying out for the promises of God.

The rains stopped and the sun brightly shone as we drove into Plymouth, a symbolic welcome to our team. Climbing the stone steps to William Bradford’s grave on the highest hill of the city that overlooks the bay, we found ourselves treading on the sacred ground of generations past. A white stone marked the place where a colonial “watch house” once stood near the first fort and church. Nearby, we found the grave of missionary Adoniram Judson. The awakening of our nation’s destiny was decreed as another team member saw America hanging by a thread. God said to him, “I have great hope in that thread,” – and we prayed for the millennial generation, declaring another student volunteer missions movement to arise.

As we stood at the Monument for the Founding Fathers in Plymouth, the words of William Bradford etched in the mammoth statue became our anthem:

“Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and, as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation. Let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise!”

The bustling of big city Boston all seemed to halt for a solemn moment as we stepped into historic Faneuil Hall. We could almost hear the great Patriot orators who sounded forth on that famous platform in the days leading up to the American Revolution. Declarations rang out for bold voices of truth to arise in America in our day.

We walked into the original Supreme Court in Philadelphia as rays of sunshine poured through the window onto the justices’ bench, and we decreed that the light of justice would shine again on our Court. Visits to Carpenter’s Hall, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell were significant, but the surprise came for our team at the end our time in the City of Love. Dutch knew there was something to be accomplished at Penn Treaty Park, the place where William Penn made an historic treaty with the Native Americans, paying them a fair price for their land instead of taking it by force. The treaty was never broken – a sign of remarkable honor and covenant. We “found” the root of mercy in Penn Treaty Park, weeping as we tapped into God’s currency of mercy. Dutch stood in silence and heard Holy Spirit repeat the words, “We found a book,” as in Josiah’s day when the word of God was rediscovered. Then Holy Spirit said, “Just as they found the book, you have discovered the root of mercy.” We all wept. Another team member spoke gently, “Not only have we touched history today, but history has touched us.”

It was cold and rainy as we walked to the Colonial Courthouse in York for what we thought would be a quick assignment before driving on to DC. The door to the old Courthouse had been left unlocked, but the lights were off inside with no one to be found. As a team member opened the door and stepped inside, a security alarm sounded. We quickly backed away and began to pray outside. When the confused curator responded to the alarm, he peeked out at our outdoor prayer meeting and invited us inside, where we were amazed to see a host of old flags lining the walls. As the curator expounded on the history of York, we curiously asked about the flags. He admittedly knew little, then pointed and said “What is the one that says ‘HEAVEN’ on it?” We stifled a chuckle as Dutch spoke up, “Yeah we know about that one!” and went on to explain the history as the curator held the flag wide for all to see. God put An Appeal to Heaven on display in York, Pennsylvania!
In almost every place where we stood to pray, groups of children would pass by, reminding us of the generational dimension of our mission. Nowhere was it more manifest than in Washington, DC, the last city of our Retracing Tour. As we stood outside the White House declaring the covenant mercy of the Lord over America, we were in the path of large groups of children who provoked us to pray for justice and mercy for their generation. At the Supreme Court, our declarations rang out for divine alignment and order as a group of teens passed by, circled up and began their own prayer meeting. Coming to the end of our assignment, we walked briskly to the Capitol and a Senate staffer led us into the Chapel where Congressmen and Senators gather to pray. In that sacred place, the decree was made that we had certainly tapped into the root of mercy. The mission ended by praying over three young adults who were with us that day, declaring mercy and righteousness over their generation. Of course, as we did, we heard groups of children loudly passing by the room, and we smiled.

Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey of Retracing America’s Covenant Roots. We felt the collective prayers of thousands on this weighty journey. Surely, we have tapped into the root of mercy, for God is not yet finished with America.

Written by K. Bohlender, Retracing team member