The nation saw a miracle happen recently—a real Christian who loves God, loves his family, loves the Constitution and teaches it regularly in local churches around Louisiana, and who worked for Alliance Defending Freedom for years defending religious liberty— got elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
This 51-year-old leader was born to a mother who was only 17 when she gave birth, according to his speech. His father was a firefighter in Shreveport, Louisiana, who was disabled in the line of duty and who died of cancer just three days before Johnson was elected to Congress. Speaker Johnson was the first to graduate from college in his family but went on to become a college professor, a media spokesman for America’s largest religious liberty organizations and someone who has given his life and time to community groups and ministries. This is the man who is now the U.S. Speaker of the House.
Congressman Johnson and I have met several times and we have had extended conversations at events and over the phone about the importance of the body of Christ getting involved in the processes within government.
In a recent speach, Speaker Johnson talked about God’s hand in the affairs of men, and you could see that he felt it to his bones. He then made it clear that the first resolution that he will pass in the U.S. House as Speaker will be standing up against Hamas and clarifying our nation’s commitment to Israel.
Elected in 2016, Congressman Mike Johnson came to Congress to bring more civility to the House of Representatives. He even wrote a paper as a freshman that 49 Members signed onto from both sides of the aisle.
Speaker Mike Johnson has a solid conservative voting record with a lifetime rating of 92% from the American Conservative Union and 90% from Heritage Action. Being in leadership where Members are expected to compromise more, this is extremely hard to accomplish.
Going from the 7th in leadership to the top position in the House is going to be a big transition for Congressman Mike Johnson, his family and his staff.
We celebrate this miracle and victory for the House, but the work has just begun.
I want to appeal to every believer in Jesus to pray fervently for Speaker Johnson, his wife, Kelly, who “spent the last few weeks on her knees” and his precious four children, Hannah, Abigail, Jack and Will.
Also, please pray for his staff who are probably in a state of shock that their boss is now the Speaker of the House. After weeks of exhaustion dealing with everything in Washington D.C., they must go into a new season of expanding their ranks and making sure they have the right staffers around the new Speaker.
This was a big day for the U.S. House of Representatives and for all of us in this nation.
For when this young man, who came to Washington to bring civility and good governance, said in his speech, “This speaker’s office is going to be known for decentralizing power here,” I believed him—and will be praying for his success.