Prayer is one of those things most people won’t turn down, even if they don’t fully believe. It’s the most powerful form of intervention we can use—and many are realizing now, more than ever, how necessary it is.
Elections seem to heighten our awareness of how much needs fixing. But, as Franklin Graham has said numerous times since the start of his Decision America Tour in January, this year’s election is unique.
“We’re on the verge, as Christians, of losing this nation. And the only hope is in God,” Franklin Graham said Tuesday at the steps of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
“We’re broken spiritually, we’re broken racially, economically and politically,” he added. “The greatest thing that we can do … is to pray.”
Denver was the first of three stops on the Decision America Tour this week. And Franklin Graham took the podium to yet again urge Christians to pray for our nation and vote for biblical leaders in the coming election.
“Make a difference for this nation. Make a difference for your community. And do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “We need to get Christians engaged.”
Ready to Act
Some 4,200 gathered at Tuesday’s prayer rally. Near the center of the crowd stood Manuel, Robert and his wife, Rosalyn. The trio came with a few van-fulls from their church, New Hope Ministries in Denver.
Admittedly, the event wasn’t exactly what they expected.
“We thought there was gonna be a whole hour of prayer. We came ready!” Manuel said with a smile.
“We would’ve gotten up there and got it going!” Rosalyn added. “We still can,” she said, looking around at the several dozen stragglers still hanging out after the event ended.
Even though they didn’t get their hour of prayer in, they were impressed with the crowd and the message Franklin had for everyone: to pray, vote and engage.
“Seeing all these people here today, I believe they will go back to their neighborhoods and do it [pray and get involved],” Manuel said. “Our pastor has been saying he believes a revival is going to start here in Denver, and I think this can be the start of it.”
Living the Power of Prayer
At a young age, Manuel accepted Christ into his life, but it wasn’t long before he was headed in the opposite direction of God. He joined a gang and got involved with cartels, looking up to the older kingpins in his neighborhood.
“They taught me how to sell drugs, how to steal, how to rob people,” he recalled. “I never had a father figure in my life, so I was always in the streets.”
He had a few brushes with death, but it wasn’t until a close call with his cousin that Manuel knew he had to change.
“I fell asleep at the wheel and ran into some buildings. My cousin said he saw a bright light holding us from dying,” he said. “[I look back and see] the Lord was always there, calling on me.”
Robert was also involved in gangs, and it led him down a destructive path, ending with 13 years in prison.
“The Lord touched me a year before I got out, and I gave Him my life in prison. I walked away from my gang, and He led me to [New Hope],” Robert said. “They taught me how to pray.
“Through prayer, the Lord healed our son of cancer. No chemotherapy. He hasn’t been sick for two years.
“My wife, she was all the way in Las Vegas, and we were praying for her, too. She came off pill addiction, alcoholism—all through prayer.”
Letting God Reign
That statement “all through prayer” is what the Decision America Tour is about.
“We can’t do anything without the Lord,” Rosalyn said. “If we don’t pray, how are our families going to be set free?”
Manuel, citing new laws for transgender bathrooms and growing drug abuse among young people in Denver—where marijuana is legal—especially urges prayer for the next generation.
“Show our children the Lord’s way so they know. If we don’t teach them, God’s way will not spread,” he said. “And if we come together as one just like we came here today as one—out there in our neighborhoods—we’ll succeed.”
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