{"id":11867,"date":"2012-10-06T23:23:17","date_gmt":"2012-10-07T03:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=11867"},"modified":"2012-10-07T11:56:52","modified_gmt":"2012-10-07T15:56:52","slug":"on-our-knees-the-only-way-to-approach-this-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/10\/on-our-knees-the-only-way-to-approach-this-election","title":{"rendered":"On our knees: the only way for Christians to approach this presidential election"},"content":{"rendered":"

How should we approach the upcoming presidential election?<\/p>\n

On our knees, proclaims a chorus of Christian leaders from across the theological spectrum \u2013 including two separate groups that\u00a0are praying\u00a0for the nation in the final 40 days leading up to Election Day.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt is imperative that we pray faithfully for the 2012 elections,\u201d says David Butts, chairman of America\u2019s National Prayer Committee.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Christians praying in Charlotte, N.C., before the National Democratic Convention<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur \u2018effectual, fervent prayers,\u2019 asking for God\u2019s will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven, can and will do much to affect the outcome of this election,\u201d \u00a0advises the Capitol Hill Prayer Partners<\/a>, a group of volunteers that gathers regularly to pray in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

The Bridge Fellowship in Kernersville, North Carolina, has launched what it calls \u201cLord, Give us America.\u201d Pastor David McGee says his church is responding to\u00a0\u201dthe pressure plaguing the United States<\/a> to turn away from traditional Christian values\u201d\u00a0and is inviting people around the nation\u00a0to address\u00a0\u201dthe moral decline of our country\u201d and pray for God\u2019s guidance how \u201cto solve America\u2019s problems from a Biblical perspective while inspiring people to put their faith in God, not the nation or the 2012 presidential election.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the International Center for Spiritual Renewal and its initiative,\u00a0Cry Out America<\/a>, Executive Director Dr. Billy Wilson says, \u201cWe believe that our trust does not lie in the economy, not in military<\/a> might and not in politics. Many Christians are lured into thinking that politics are the answer but the one and only answer is Jesus. This nation has strayed from a spirit of freedom and public trust in God. American\u2019s greatest need continues to be their need to know Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Prayer on the steps of the Wisconsin state capitol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Echoing\u00a0Wilson\u2019s call is a group calling itself 40 Days of Prayer.<\/a> \u00a0Its website explains \u201cNo one ministry or person is behind this call to 40 days of prayer for<\/a> our elections,\u201d but that an invitation\u00a0is \u201cbeing issued by America\u2019s National<\/a> Prayer Committee, an ad hoc group made up of leaders from more than 90 regional and national prayer ministries<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur urgent cry is that every believer pray and rally others to pray for this election. Not prayer that seeks to promote or harm a specific candidate, but that cries out to God for His purposes for our nation, that a standard of righteousness be raised again in this land, and revival in the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
U.S. troops pray before going on a mission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Southern Baptist Convention, America\u2019s largest Protestant group, has also declared a \u201c40\/40 Prayer Vigil\u201d<\/a> \u2013 40 days of prayer before the elections. That\u00a0initiative consists of 40 days of prayer as well as 40 hours of around-the-clock intercession just before the elections.<\/p>\n

Participants are asked to \u201cPray for 40 days, once each day between September 26 and November 4,\u201d as well as to \u201cPray for 40 hours\u00a0 Continued on page 2:<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How should we approach the upcoming presidential election? On our knees, proclaims a chorus of Christian leaders from across the theological spectrum \u2013 including two separate groups that\u00a0are praying\u00a0for the nation in the final 40 days leading up to Election Day. \u00a0\u201cIt is imperative that we pray faithfully for the 2012 elections,\u201d says David Butts,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,2140,354,74,1604,2113],"tags":[2145,2142,2147,2141,2144,2146,2143],"class_list":["post-11867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-election-center","category-prayer","category-religious-freedom","category-southern-baptist-convention","category-voter-resources","tag-4040-prayer-vigil","tag-americas-national-prayer-committee","tag-awakening-america-alliance","tag-capitol-hill-prayer-partners","tag-cry-out-america","tag-prayerconnect","tag-sisters-of-mercy"],"yoast_head":"\nOn our knees: the only way for Christians to approach this presidential election<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/10\/on-our-knees-the-only-way-to-approach-this-election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On our knees: the only way for Christians to approach this presidential election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How should we approach the upcoming presidential election? On our knees, proclaims a chorus of Christian leaders from across the theological spectrum \u2013 including two separate groups that\u00a0are praying\u00a0for the nation in the final 40 days leading up to Election Day. \u00a0\u201cIt is imperative that we pray faithfully for the 2012 elections,\u201d says David Butts,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/10\/on-our-knees-the-only-way-to-approach-this-election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-07T03:23:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-10-07T15:56:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/files\/2012\/10\/IMG_1382.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On our knees: the only way for Christians to approach this presidential election","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/10\/on-our-knees-the-only-way-to-approach-this-election","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On our knees: the only way for Christians to approach this presidential election","og_description":"How should we approach the upcoming presidential election? 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