Evangelist Graham Urges Prayers Ahead Of U.S. Election Amid Controversy
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham, who supports the re-election of President Donald J. Trump, has urged Christians to pray on Sunday for the United States.
In a statement obtained by Worthy News, he said, “our nation is at a critical juncture. We need to call out to God for His help, His intervention, and His mercy.”
The son of late Reverend Billy Graham noted earlier this year that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris “are labeled as the most pro-abortion presidential ticket in the history of our nation.”
“This should be a great concern to all Christians,” added Graham at the time. “As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am pro-life [and] believe every life is precious to God.”
He has also expressed concerns about the battle over the Supreme Court’s conservative composition and often deadly riots in several U.S. cities.
EFFECTING CHILDREN
In Monday’s remarks shared with Worthy News, Graham said that Americans face an “election coming up with so much at stake—two vastly different directions for the future of this country.” He added: “This not only affects us but our children and our grandchildren.”
Graham stressed that it is “only by His hand that America will survive and be able to thrive again.”
He recalled that when the survival of Biblical King Jehoshaphat’s nation was at stake, “and his people were in danger from their enemies, he called for a fast.”
Graham explained that at the time, “The people sought the Lord and His help—and He delivered them.”
Quoting from the Bible’s 2 Chronicles 20:3–4, Graham notes that King “Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord, and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”
PRAYING FOR NATION
Inspired by this Biblical story, “I am urging followers of Jesus Christ to fast and to pray for our nation this Sunday, October 25,” he wrote.
Graham urged believers to “mark it on your calendars and prepare now. I hope individuals, families, and churches will join me in asking for the Lord’s help and for His will to be done in this critical election.” He recently led a prayer march in Washington, where thousands prayed for the president.
Late last year, Franklin Graham claimed that his late father voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
The revelation came after Christianity Today, one of the nation’s top Christian publications, called for removing Trump from office.
It referred to the House of Representatives passing two articles of impeachment against the president.
“Yes, my father, Billy Graham, founded Christianity Today, but no, he would not agree with their opinion piece. In fact, he would be very disappointed,” Graham said.
HOUR IN HISTORY
“I have not previously shared who my father voted for in the past election, but because of this article, I feel it is necessary to share it now,” he added. “My father knew Donald Trump, he believed in Donald Trump, and he voted for Donald Trump. He believed that Donald J. Trump was the man for this hour in history for our nation.”
Not everyone agrees. A petition that has reportedly garnered over 12,000 signatures calls for the removal of Franklin Graham as CEO and Chairman of aid group Samaritan’s Purse over his support of President Trump.
The petition organized by the Faithful America group cited Graham’s prayer for the president at the recent Republican National Convention as an example of alleged wrongdoing.
“Standing behind a Trump-Pence campaign sign, Graham also used Jesus’s name to give thanks for ‘the many blessings we have received these past four years.’ We would hardly consider family separation, the deadly federal COVID-19 response, rampant corruption, and authoritarianism, or ongoing systemic racism to be ‘blessings,’” the group wrote.
Faithful America describes itself as the “largest online community of Christians putting faith into action for social justice.” Its critics accuse it of using faith as a cover to silence conservatives.
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