Evangelist Franklin Graham, the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, requests that churches pray for our nation during these dark days.
With nationwide protests erupting after the death of George Floyd, Graham is urging pastors to have a special time during their Sunday morning worship service where they pray for peace, perspective, patience, and an outpouring of His wisdom for the leaders handling this crisis.
Graham shared the following prayer in a Facebook post:
As Christians, the greatest weapon and the most powerful defense we have is prayer. Our country needs prayer in a critical way.
I’m asking churches to have a special time of intercession for our nation in their Sunday morning services, whether in person or online. Will you pray, and will you share this with your pastor?
We need to pray for PEACE, because “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20).
Pray for PERSPECTIVE, because “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).
Pray for PATIENCE, because of God’s “kindness and forbearance and patience” toward us all (Romans 2:4).
And pray for an OUTPOURING of His wisdom and direction for our leaders and officials who are dealing with this crisis. Ask God to change hearts and heal this divide in our nation.
A dozen chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, who are equipped to handle crises like this, are serving in Minneapolis, Minnesota where Floyd died last Monday.
These chaplains have seen local church leaders grieving – crying out to God for help as the devastation continues to unfold.
Our nation is in desperate need of prayer right now. As Christians, it is our responsibility to use this powerful weapon against the adversity that our country is feeling.