Pray About the Elections

This is one of the most important elections in my lifetime. This week I have lots of information from various sources on some of the issues involved.

One of the most important votes is on the definition of marriage between one man and one woman both here in Florida as well as in California and Arizona. Click here to watch an interesting video about proposition 8 in California sent to me by the American Family Association.At the very end of this blog is a word that came from Dutch Sheets about his calling the body of Christ to prayer in the next 2 weeks up until the election. He believes, as I do, that this election can shift if people pray. It is so important that I'm running it below in it's entirely instead of some of the ads and other materials that we normally run. Please read it, send it to friends, and respond.

Here is a sobering interview by Tony Perkins on the effect that legalizing same sex marriage will have on how we raise our children. The video is about 7 minutes and worth watching.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1815825713/bctid1819819843

My friend John Stemberger is leading the charge for passage of Amendment 2 here in Florida. This is the link to his website which has a lot of useful information.
http://www.yes2marriage.org/learn-more/brochures-and-flyers/

Also, below is some information from Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel which is asking people to sign a petition saying they will vote for Amendment 2 and forwarding this to five friends. If you know someone who lives in Florida, please help us by emailing it to them.
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For weeks, Liberty Counsel has been working to create a network of grassroots Florida citizens who have taken a stand for marriage. I'm thrilled to report that we now can reach by email well over 100,000 Florida citizens who have expressed an interest in voting for the marriage amendment (Amendment 2)!

I believe these 100,000 plus citizens could make history in the next two weeks by rallying hundreds of thousands more to stand for marriage on November 4.But it all starts with you. Please go here to join with thousands of other Florida citizens who are pledging to vote YES on Amendment 2:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=12360&RID=14674276

After you sign the pledge, please take a moment to "Alert 5 to Keep Marriage Alive."

This is absolutely crucial. Anti-marriage groups are doing everything possible to defeat Amendment 2. They are using deception and scare tactics. They are even falsely telling senior citizens that they will "lose benefits" if the marriage amendment passes. That's why I'm asking you to take a stand with thousands of other Florida citizens right now by taking the marriage pledge.

Go here: http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=12360&RID=14674276

With your help, we can inform and equip hundreds of thousands of Florida citizens before Election Day. Thank you for taking your stand!

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman

Liberty Counsel
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Letter from Dutch Sheets

Dear Praying Friend,

In 2000, I wrote the 2nd most important letter of my life—a call to prayer for the elections of that year. I’m now writing what may be my most important letter. I knew the importance of those elections in 2000 was beyond any in my life up to that point and that the spiritual warfare surrounding them would be unlike anything any of us had ever seen. That letter was read by millions of people and I believe millions of them responded by praying. I also believe the prayers turned the tide.You may question whether President Bush was the right choice; obviously, he has made some blunders in his tenure as president. But two of his decisions alone left no doubt he was God’s choice: Roberts and Alito.

These two Supreme Court Justices have proven critical in the process of breaking the hold of humanism, death and anti-God agendas that have ruled the Court for 50 years. I assure you that more devastation—the shedding of innocent blood, immorality, decay of the family and an erosion of our godly heritage—has flowed into our nation through that institution than any other door in America. Many times more. The poison allowed into America through their decisions is beyond any of our abilities to articulate. The reality in America is that you don’t need to control Congress or the White Hose to rule the nation. You only need 5 people – 5 out of 9 on the Supreme Court. And for decades those who disagree with just about everything you and I stand for have been in control!In Bush’s two terms, the process of turning this around began with the appointments of Roberts and Alito. Now, we win some cases 5-4 and lose some 4-5. (We barely outlawed partial birth abortion. The vote of one judge saved thousands of babies from this horror.) We need one more conservative Justice for a consistent majority, then more to build a strong majority.

In Obama’s own words, “the next president will appoint at least one, perhaps two or more Supreme Court Justices.” He’s right. Almost certainly two or more older, liberal Justices are waiting until after the elections to retire, in hopes of Obama winning and appointing more liberals to replace them. And he certainly would. He voted against the confirmation of Roberts and Alito. So did Biden. And Biden led the fight against Justice Thomas several years back, another of the 4 solid conservatives. Make no mistake about it, the two of them do have a litmus test for Supreme Court Justices, and a major part of that test is Roe vs. Wade. McCain and Palin, on the other hand, both have very strong pro-life positions. This alone makes the choice for President simple. To vote for the 2nd and 3rd most liberal senators (Obama and Biden), both of whom are firmly and blatantly pro-abortion, would be unconscionable.Obama has actually said that if he wins, he would like his first action as president to be the signing of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would eliminate every other law against any aspect of abortion (partial birth abortion, parental notification, etc., etc.). And with a democratic majority in the House and Senate, pretty much any legislation he and Biden want to pass will be a slam-dunk. There are many other unrighteous positions they hold but this position alone makes the choice easy. If they win this election, it will set America back decades in the cause of life and the restoration we seek.

Just as many of you do, I too, want to see a first black President, but not Senator Obama. To allow that noble and godly desire, the economy or one’s position on the war to trump this issue of life and death for the innocent unborn is simply wrong. The scriptures teach that if we choose first to exalt righteousness and turn from evil, God promises to heal our land (see Proverbs 14:34; 2 Chronicles 7:14). It is righteousness that exalts a nation, not wealth, prosperity or armies. If we will finish the process of removing the curses of death and anti-God laws off of America by electing a president that will continue to shift the Court, God will grace us with breakthrough in other areas such as the economy, the war against terrorism, etc. My faith is not in a person, and certainly not a political party, for the healing of America, but I know God’s word and His ways well enough to know that our decisions do move Him to action or inaction. Now to the heart of my reason for writing this letter (I realize I am “preaching to the choir”—most of you who know or listen to me are conservative enough to vote for McCain and Palin.)I have not written any appeals for prayer concerning this election because:

1) others have, and
2) I believe our movement has matured to the point that the prayer base of the Church is already praying.

But I now feel the need to raise my voice. I am appealing to you to pray for these elections the next two weeks like you’ve never prayed for any in the past. Faithfully. Passionately. Boldly. Ask God for His mercy and grace. We deserve His judgment for removing His influence and authority from our government, schools, homes and businesses; for the killing of 50 million babies; for leading the world in the consumption and exporting of pornography; for passing laws to reject His; etc. But mercy triumphs over judgment and in His wrath He remembers mercy. In 2000 we actually lost the popular vote and won the election—talk about grace! Please pray for this grace to be released again.

But I am also asking you for something more than normal prayer. For those of you who understand spiritual warfare, I am asking you to also include this aspect of prayer. There is no doubt that we have entered a Daniel 10 moment in time: “Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia’” (Daniel 10: 12-13 NAS). The spiritual warfare in this election is incredibly fierce, and just as it was in Daniel’s day, is all about the restoration of a nation. And also like Daniel, we must keep praying until we win the battle in the heavens.In August of this year I predicted that September would mark a shift in momentum for these elections. This happened with the appointment of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential nominee (who is a true Esther in our generation), but when the economy began its meltdown and the media ramped up their unprecedented attacks on Palin, that momentum wasn’t sustained. But we can see it turn again if we approach this battle as the spiritual warfare it truly is and bind the evil forces involved (see Matthew 16:18-19). The reality is that this election can be the breakthrough we need to fully shift the Court (and ultimately our nation) or it will be an immeasurable setback that could take many years to reverse—if ever. Please understand what I am saying: if we engage in this battle and do what I am asking—in mass—we will win; if we do not, we will lose. I, for one, don’t intend to allow the latter. I am in Washington, D.C. now (October 20-22) with Lou Engle and a team of prayer leaders from around the nation to war for this election. Join us! Lose some sleep, miss some meals— pray! Pray like never before for these elections. And as you do, involve yourself not only in petitioning prayer but also in spiritual warfare. Use your God-given authority over the plans and strategies of Satan’s kingdom. Bind all witchcraft that is working to control the outcome, including occult powers that are suppressing truth. Release Christ’s Kingdom rule in every way the Holy Spirit leads you.

Don’t be deceived and don’t lose hope (if you have to, turn off the TV.) It is not too late to turn these elections. God is plenty powerful enough to do so. The real question is will we rise to the level of prayer and spiritual warfare necessary to release that power. And remember, we don’t need a majority of Christians who are willing and able to do this—only a praying remnant. We can do it!Here are some practical suggestions to consider:

1) Fast (a meal a day; a day a week; a Daniel fast; 3 days; 10 days; TV; etc.) and spend the time praying.
2) Agree in prayer with someone everyday for God’s will to be done.
3) Form/participate in prayer groups regularly. Churches could pray everyday.
4) Take time in every gathering to pray. (Take 15 minutes in every service to pray for the elections. Turn an entire service to harp and bowl style intercession—worship and prayer combined.)
5) Join 2 or more on a conference call and pray for 15, 20, or 30 minutes.
6) Pray on the way to work (and on the way home).
7) Pray before you go to sleep.
8) Pray before church services.
9) Ask God to give you His strategy—He will!

In His grip,

Dutch Sheets
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This is Steve again. This week is a potpourri of things emailed to me. For those who stayed with me this long, here is something from "the other side" showing the radical left is nervous about losing the vote on traditional marriage in California. It was forwarded to me by a friend and I thought it was both encouraging and an interesting insight in how they view people with traditional values.
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Here is a heartening letter to the editor of San Diego's Gay and Lesbian Times. Keep praying, fasting, and fighting.

Subject: Queer community faces 'political emergency' on Prop 8

Letters to the Editor
(Published Thursday, 16-Oct-2008 in issue 1086)

“Today we face a political emergency in the Queer community. The defeat of Proposition 8 by all legal means available is our immediate priority. NOTHING – not even the Presidential election – is more important.”

Dear Editor:

Rex Wockner’s article “Polls flip on California marriage, Gays losing now” (October 9) doesn’t mention the scariest aspect of the new polls showing anti-marriage Proposition 8 ahead: the gain of support occurred almost entirely among young voters (ages 18 to 34). Before this poll, marriage equality advocates had always assumed that the youth were on our side; that even if today’s cohort of voters was against same-sex marriage, the bigots would slowly die off and eventually there would be a clear majority on our side as young people, raised in an atmosphere of live-and-let-live acceptance of Queer people, entered voting age and replaced them.

Well, as on so many issues the Left sat on its hands and hoped, and the Right put their noses to the grindstone and organized. An October 10 dispatch on the Christian Newswire by Trish Teves [http://www.protectmarriage.com/article/traditional-marriage-initiative-makes-gains-with-young-voters] boasts that the Yes on 8 forces have set up a special Web site to appeal to youth directly, iProtectMarriage.com, which “directs users to MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and BlueChowder, encouraging young people to register to vote, get informed about Prop. 8, and tell their friends to vote Yes on 8.” As a result, according to the SurveyUSA poll, voters 18 to 34 are now MORE likely than older voters to support Proposition 8 – 53 percent in favor to 39 percent opposed.

Today we face a political emergency in the Queer community. The defeat of Proposition 8 by all legal means available is our immediate priority. NOTHING – not even the Presidential election – is more important. Passage of Proposition 8 will kill the chances of same-sex marriage anywhere in the U.S. outside of New England forever – or at least long enough that no one now living will see it. The future of Queer equality will be far better if Proposition 8 is defeated and John McCain is the next President than if it passes and Barack Obama is the next President.

Accordingly, the Queer community nationwide in the U.S. should divert ALL its resources into a massive campaign to raise a war chest capable of matching that of the Proposition 8 supporters and defeating this initiative at the polls while there is still a chance to do so. Proposition 8 is the deal-breaker, the vote that will determine whether or not marriage equality for same-sex couples EVER becomes a reality in the United States. Our opponents understand that and are acting accordingly. Are we?

Mark Gabrish Conlan

Publisher, Zenger’s Newsmagazine
http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=13302