Tag Archives: Prayer

Arizona Students Refuse To Remove Prayer From Graduation

Despite an administrator’s attempt to get prayer removed from the Pima Unified School District’s graduation, students made sure that God was given praise during the event.

Superintendent Sean Rickert had ordered the removal of prayer from the graduation event because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t violating the rights of any student who didn’t want to participate in or hear a prayer at the event.  He said that he made the decision on his own without any threats of legal action against the school.

Community members and students were outraged at Rickert’s actions, and when the Superintendent and other school officials refused to change their mind on the matter, students took the matter into their own hands.

Not only did students present prayers as part of the ceremony, many graduates made a silent protest by handing a marble to the superintendent as they graduated, an indication they believed he had “lost his marbles” with his actions.

“My class wanted God in our graduation and we weren’t going to take no for an answer,” said Esperanza Gonzalez, one of the students who prayed at the event.  “The world keeps saying ‘no to God, no to God’ unless you’re in prison, so we said yes to God because He has helped us throughout our entire high school career.”

Church’s “Drive Thru Prayer Box” Stirs Community

An idea to reach people who were illegally cutting through a church’s parking lot to avoid an intersection is causing a stir in a Tennessee town.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church of Jackson, Tennessee set up a “drive thru prayer box” where drivers who were cutting through their parking lot could stop and write a prayer request on a 3 by 5 note card.  The church was hoping it could be a way to advertise the church to those in the area and also to pray for their community.

Now, the church is receiving attention from the entire community and churches around the country.

“Now that [an] article has been published in the local newspaper, the number [of prayer requests] has grown substantially,” Barry Matthews of the church told the Christian Post. “We’re seeing requests that just grab your heart.”

Matthews says the church has also been flooded with calls from other churches facing the same problem of drivers cutting through their parking lots wanting to know how to set up their own “drive thru prayer station” ministries.

“They’re telling us this is an answer to their prayers,” Matthews said.

Someone is Waiting Beyond Your “Yes!”

It’s amazing how the Kingdom of God works. Little seeds sown throughout your life have the ability to produce so much fruit – fruit in the form of souls won to the Lord! While the devil will tell you that the things you do for God don’t amount to much, or that what you’ve done has all been ‘undone’ by circumstances and events, remember that he is a liar and that’s what he does best!

There is no greater thing that you can do than to sow seeds into the fields where God has placed you because some of those seeds will land on fertile soil and can produce a harvest greater than you could ever imagine or hope for. It has been that way with me and all the ministry throughout my life, and especially at Heritage USA. Some of the seeds sown back then have produced such surprising results that I am amazed today!  Continue reading →

Supreme Court Approves Prayers At Town Meetings

In what’s being hailed as a victory in the battle to defend Americans’ religious freedom, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that it is Constitutional for government meetings to have a prayer spoken at the opening of the gathering.

The decision was specifically praised for the very clear response to the issue.

“Even if [the decision] did uphold prayer in public legislative sessions, I wasn’t sure how clear that would be. This is crystal clear,” Rev. Rob Schenck told the Christian Post. “I would say, from reading the opinion, this is going to give very clear guidance in the future and it’s going to frustrate a lot of people who will attempt to get prayer at legislative sessions or any kind of public gathering shut down.”

The court’s five conservative justices said the prayers at the opening of the meetings were for the participants in the meeting and not for the general public.

Those who have tried to eliminate Christianity from public life were expectedly upset with the court’s decision.  Rob Boston of the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said the court’s ruling upholding religious freedom was “out of step with the realties of modern-day America.”

“The majority opinion makes it clear that legislative prayer often isn’t coercive because the adults being exposed to it have options, such as leaving the room,” Boston said before making a threat.  “So, if any misguided religious right activists out there is thinking this decision opens the door for a return of official school prayer, they can forget it.”

Atheist Group Attacks Acclaimed Baseball Coach

The virulent anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation is attacking the 2013 National Baseball Coach of the Year because he would lead his team in a prayer before they took the field.

Larry Turner of Owasso High School teaches his baseball players to do more than just play the game.  The team also visits war veterans in hospitals and teaches the sport to children who want to compete in the Special Olympics.

Now, the aggressive anti-Christian FFRF says a “concerned citizen” filed a complaint with them over the coach leading the team in prayer.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation routinely files complaints all over the country where it is not located on behalf of anonymous people they do not provide evidence of truly existing.

The group did say in their letter they have no actual evidence of the coach leading the prayers, just the allegations of an unnamed source.

The anti-Christian group has been focusing this year on high school coaches who may lead or participate in prayers with their teams before games.

The school has not yet responded to the demands of the FFRF.

President Hosts Easter Prayer Breakfast

An Easter Prayer Breakfast was held at the White House Monday.

Invitations to the breakfast were sent to members of various denominations.  The President addressed the crowd to speak about Christ and His love.

“We’re reminded how He loves us, so deeply, that He gave his only begotten Son so that we might live through Him. And in these Holy Days, we recall all that Jesus endured for us – the scorn of the crowds and the pain of the crucifixion, in our Christian religious tradition we celebrate the glory of the Resurrection – all so that we might be forgiven of our sins and granted everlasting life,” President Obama said.

The President also used the occasion to speak about the tragedy at Jewish community centers in Overland Park, Kansas, saying that nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering for worship.

The President then encouraged the Christians in attendance to not “remain on the sidelines.”

“I want to thank you for your ministries, for your good works, for the marching you do for justice and dignity and inclusion, for the ministries that all of you attend to and have helped organize throughout your communities each and every day to feed the hungry and house the homeless and educate children who so desperately need an education,” the President said. “You have made a difference in so many different ways, not only here in the United States but overseas as well.”

National Day of Prayer May 1st

This year the National Day of Prayer will be on Thursday, May 1st. We invite you to join with us as we pray for America. This day of prayer is a vital part of our American heritage. The first call to prayer was made in 1775. The Continental Congress asked all the colonies to pray and ask God for wisdom in the formation of a nation.

This recognition of the importance of prayer has continued throughout America’s history. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln called for a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer”. A joint resolution was made by Congress in 1952 which was signed by President Harry Truman declaring that day an annual, national day of prayer. Then in 1988 President Reagan set the national day of prayer to be observed on the first Thursday of May every year.

The Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, Mrs. Shirley Dobson, wife of Family Talk founder, Dr. James Dobson has selected the theme for this year to be: “One Voice, United in Prayer” in agreement with Romans 15:6 – “So that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Shirley Dobson requests: “In these few remaining days leading up to the 2014 National Day of Prayer on May 1 – and on that occasion, in particular – it’s my prayer that the Body of Christ will recommit itself to vigilant and unceasing intercession. If we do not weary in this, there’s no telling how powerfully God will answer!”

The Jim Bakker Show and Morningside Church acknowledge that prayer is of utmost importance. Without the foundation of prayer in our life or ministry, nothing of lasting value can be accomplished.

God has chosen prayer as the method that He responds to and works through to bring His will to this earth. It is vital that we pray for God’s will to be done on earth and in our lives. His will is revealed in His Word. Jesus prayed to the Father in Heaven, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Now, if Jesus needed to pray for the Father’s will to be done, how much more do we need to!

Pastor John Hagee will be on the Jim Bakker Show on the National Day of Prayer. We believe that the timing of this is very significant. Join with us in prayer on May 1st for the righteous to rule our nation and for the leaders of our country to know God in a personal intimate way. Pray for them to seek His face, His will and desires for our nation. I think we can all agree that this is a critical time for our nation. Let’s continually pray for our leaders and our nation.

God is a good God and He desires to bless our nation, but how can we be blessed if we are turning away from Him and His ways? That is where the intercession of God’s people can truly make a difference. We start with ourselves individually, humbling ourselves before the Lord, repenting of our sins, turning away from them and following God. THEN the Lord will heal our land.

II Chronicles 7:14—“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

May God bless America as we once again turn our hearts back to Him!

Charges Against Christian Prayer Vigil Holders Dismissed

A group of Australian Christians who entered a government Minister’s office and held a prayer vigil protest have had all charges against them dismissed by a court.

The five Christians had pleaded guilty in court to the charges against them before the Magistrate dismissed them.

“The aim was to pray about the asylum seeker issue in public, to draw attention to Australia’s cruel policies of indefinite detention,” said Matt Anslow, one of the Christians involved in the protest.

The Magistrate said “If ever there was a peaceful protest this was it” as he dismissed the charges.

“Martin Luther King Jr spoke about there being times when civil disobedience is necessary to dramatise an issue of injustice so that it can no longer be ignored,” Anslow said.  “For us to be silent in the face of injustice is to be complicit in the injustice, for us not to speak is to speak.”

Minister Scott Morrison was targeted for the protest because he has said that he is a Christian. The group wanted to encourage Morrison to act on his Christian beliefs.

School Opens Investigation Into Child Told Not To Pray

A kindergartner whose school accused her of making up a story that a staff member told her not to pray over her lunch has been vindicated when the young girl was able to identify the person who told her to stop praying.

Gabriella Perez had told her parents Marcos & Kathy that when she tried to pray over one of her lunches at school last week a staff member told her not to do it and that it was not good for someone to pray.

The parents contacted the principal of the school who said she informed teachers of the rights of a student to pray.  However, all the teachers said they did not know of such an incident happening and the school spokesman insisted there was a “miscommunication” on the part of the child.

“The situation as stated by the parent has not occurred according to the school’s investigation,” Michael Lawrence of Seminole County Schools told WKMG-TV.

Now, after the school was approached by lawyers from the Liberty Institute representing the family, a new investigation is being launched after Gabriella was able to positively identify a lunch monitor out of a lineup as the one who told her that she had to stop praying.

“My goal throughout this process has been to defend my daughter’s religious liberty,” Marcos Perez said in a statement.  “I am thankful that the school now believes that something clearly happened when my daughter attempted to say grace, and are taking swift action to correct the situation.”