Tag Archives: Prayer

Federal Judge Partially Upholds Christian Prayer at Graduation Event

A federal judge has stated that student-led prayer at graduation events is Constitutional after an attempt by a group that targets references to religion in public events to have all prayer banned.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) filed a complaint against the Greenville South Carolina School District, saying that they needed to remove an elementary school “graduation” ceremony from a chapel at North Greenville University and also prohibit prayers at the event.

U.S. District Court Judge George Ross Anderson, who first heard the case, said the AHA was “making a mountain out of a molehill.”  On Monday, U.S. District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks ruled that the school-sponsored prayer could not be allowed by the School District but that any student-led prayer in permissible by the Constitution.

The school district informed the court they removed an invocation from the ceremony but allowed a student prayer.

The AHA was not happy that prayer was allowed to continue in a public space and that children were exposed to prayer.

“It’s a sad day when the courts allow students to be subjected to Christian prayers during what should be a secular graduation ceremony,” executive director Roy Speckhardt said in a statement on Tuesday. “These prayers exclude kids and families of minority faiths and no faith.”

The group plans to appeal to have all prayer removed from the event.

“Brain Dead” Teen Girl, Revived Through Prayer, To Graduate High School

Doctors said the girl was brain dead and that her parents should take her off life support.

But God wasn’t done with Taylor Hale.

Hale was 14 when she fell off the hood of a car while hanging out with friends.  Her head hit the pavement and she was in a coma for six days.  Her brain sank part of the way into her spinal canal, a condition the doctors said was always fatal.

The doctors were wanting to harvest Taylor’s organs for transplants when Jeff Stickel came to the hospital.  Stickel, a family friend who felt God calling him to the hospital to pray for the girl, asked for permission from the parents.  The parents thought it was too late but allowed him to pray anyway.

Stickel laid hands on her neck and prayed for God to heal her.  The family thanked him and he left.

The doctors turned off the life support.

But Taylor kept breathing.

They reconnected the life support and as the day went on, Taylor’s brain activity increased.  Her eyes moved.  She made noises as if she was trying to talk.

Then she woke up from the coma.

“It was the hand of God at work,” her father, Chuck Hale said. “That’s the only thing that can explain it.”

Taylor needed years of therapy but can walk, talk and eat on her own.  She struggles with math but will graduate with her class and plans to go to college to study event planning.

“God can save people,” she said. “I’m always thankful to all the doctors and nurses and therapists who helped me get better, but God did most of the saving.”

Judge Rules Commissioners Can’t Pray Only In Jesus’ Name

A federal judge has ruled that a group of county commissioners cannot present prayers in Jesus’ name even if all the commissioners are Christians.

The ACLU and the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation filed suit against the commissioners of Rowan County in March 2013 claiming that commissioners said during their opening invocations that “there is only one way to salvation, and that is Jesus Christ,” and thank the Lord for the “virgin birth,” the “cross at Calvary” and “the resurrection.”

A local resident who was against the Christian message in the public meeting explained why they helped bring the suit.

“I want my local government to be open and welcoming to people of all beliefs,” Nan Lund, a local resident who is among three plaintiffs named in the suit, stated in a news release announcing the legal challenge. “But when officials begin a public meeting with prayers that are specific to only one religious viewpoint, I feel unwelcome and excluded.”

Federal Judge James A. Beaty Jr., ruled in favor of Lund and the other plaintiffs, saying that the actions of the councilmen was unconstitutional.

“The practice fails to be nondiscriminatory, entangles government with religion, and over time, establishes a pattern of prayers that tends to advance the Christian faith of the elected commissioners at the expense of any religious affiliation unrepresented by the majority,” he wrote.

“While an all-comers policy is not necessarily required, a nondiscriminatory one is,” he said. “When all faiths but those of the five elected commissioners are excluded, the policy inherently discriminates and disfavors religious minorities.”

The county has not announced if they will appeal the ruling.

Pastor Saeed Abedini Celebrated His 35th Birthday Behind Bars In Iran

Saeed noted in a letter to his supporters and family that his birthday this year fell on the National Day of Prayer in America.

“As an American and as a prisoner for Christ, I have spent many hours praying and crying out to God for revival for this great nation. We all hope for the success of our nation and for America to be blessed, but without revival there can be no true success or blessing. As Ezra’s cried out to God in repentance and the Israelites joined him in weeping bitterly and turning from their sin, I would like to ask you to join me in repenting and praying for revival,” Abedini’ letter begins.

The American Center for Law and Justice, who represents the family, said the letter was given to a family member in Iran last week.

The ACLJ said that Abedini’s letter focused on American Christians and a call upon them to turn back to God and make Him the center of their lives.

“Change starts with us. Revival starts with us. The first step to revival is praying together in unity as a nation. the National Day of Prayer is a great opportunity for us to come out and use the freedom that we have been given. So many Christians around the world are imprisoned and martyred for their faith in Jesus,” Abedini wrote.

“You have the freedom to gather across the United States at your state capitol to pray. Please use this opportunity. Please use your freedom for the kingdom of God.”

 

Billy Graham Says God Answers No To Protect His Children

Rev. Billy Graham answered a question from a woman regarding God answering no to prayers by saying it was a way that our Heavenly Father protects his children.

“Let me assure you that God does love us, and precisely because He loves us, He sometimes says ‘no’ to what we request in our prayers,” Graham wrote. “Let me explain it this way. Elsewhere in your letter, you mention that you and your husband have two children. Do you give them everything they ask for? Or if they want to do something you know is dangerous, do you let them do it anyway?”

“No, of course not, and the reason is because you love them and don’t want anything bad to happen to them,” Graham continued. “Part of your responsibility as a parent is to protect your children from harm even if it sometimes means saying ‘no.'”

Graham went on to explain that God is like your protective parents.  He doesn’t want to see His children encounter harm and that Christians can’t see the future the way God can see it to know the consequences of their prayer.

“In a much greater way, God loves us and knows what is best for us —far more than we do. And because He wants to keep us from harm, He sometimes says ‘no,'” Graham asserted. “As I look back over my life, I know God sometimes said ‘no’ to things I asked him to do, and to be honest, I often was disappointed. …But later I realized God knew what He was doing, and by saying ‘no,’ He had kept me from harm.”

Graham reminded readers that God never agreed to answer all prayers.

“God hasn’t promised to answer every prayer we make,” Graham added. “He has promised only to answer those that are in line with His will. The Bible says, ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us’ (1 John 5:14).”

Canadian Supreme Court Rules With Atheist Against Christian Prayers

The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that a Christian prayer taking place at a town meeting is a violation of the law because it shows a preference for one religion over another.

The court had ruled on the appeal of a lower court’s ruling that the major of Saguenay had not violated an atheist’s rights by opening public meetings with a prayer.

“The prayer recited by the municipal council in breach of the state’s duty of neutrality resulted in a distinction, exclusion and preference based on religion …. which, in combination with the circumstances in which the prayer was recited, turned the meetings into a preferential space for people with theistic beliefs,” wrote the court.

“Although non‑believers could also participate, the price for doing so was isolation, exclusion and stigmatization. This impaired [plaintiff’s] right to exercise his freedom of conscience and religion.”

Because the decision is nationally binding, other cities across Canada immediately began removing any references to God from their public hearings.

However, Bruce Clemenger of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada said the decision was not as sweeping as anti-Christian groups claim it is.

“The Supreme Court did not ban offering prayers at government events, but they did offer guidance about when a prayer may cross a line,” said Clemenger.

“It was the circumstances and context of the prayer that the court found violated the neutrality of the state and contravened the religious freedom of an atheist who challenged the prayer.”

Go Big Or Go Home

After turning my life over to God, I became OOOOONNNN FIRE for Jesus!   You know when you look at fire and its different colors?   Some of the hottest spots are the blue flames. That is where I was.  I felt like dynamite but I also realized that many things in my world would have to change. I went on a sabbatical for at least 6 months from my not so Jesus centered friends whom I love so much. I’m close with several of them to this day.  They truly respect me for my Christian beliefs and several of them have actually come to know the Lord since that time. Continue reading →

Christians Counter Wiccan Prayer At Iowa Legislature

A group of Christian legislators refused to attend the opening of Thursday’s session for the Iowa Legislature because a Wiccan priestess gave the invocation.

Wiccan Deborah Maynard, who says she’s a “Unitarian Universalist”, prayed to the universe and the earth.  Democratic Representative Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids who invited the Wiccan speaker said she wanted people to know the statement made by Maynard would be “inclusive.”

The chamber was half empty for Maynard’s talk as Christian legislators attended a prayer rally.

“We feel that this is completely out of sync with the traditions of our state and our nation to seek guidance from the occult,” Michael Demastus, pastor of Fort Des Moines Church of Christ, told reporters. “We believe it is just not a good idea.”

He said that as Maynard spoke, “I was praying for her salvation. I was praying that she would come to know the one true God.”

One Christian legislator said he stayed in the chamber but turned his back on the priestess while she delivered her talk.

“I thought to myself, ‘What would Jesus do?’” Rep. Rob Taylor (R-West Des Moines) stated. “Jesus would be in the chamber from my perspective. He would passively protest and then He would seek that individual out and have a peaceful conversation with them about why His way was the best way, and so that is what I did today.”

Taylor said he offered to Maynard the chance to learn about the one true God.

UK Tribunal Rules Against Christian Accused of Witnessing

A Christian woman that was suspended after a Muslim co-worker rushed to her employer to complain she was witnessed to has had her appeal denied by a British tribunal.

Victoria Wasteney, 38, thought she had become friends with Muslim Enya Nawaz, 27.  The two worked at St. John Howard Center in London.  The two discussed Islam and Christianity and Wasteney shared her church’s efforts to fight human trafficking.

“The whole basis of our conversations around faith started with her telling me that she’d had an encounter with God, that she felt she had been brought to London for a particular reason,” Wasteney told reporters. “We were both interested in what one another were involved in. It was part of the normal process of building a relationship with someone, to talk about primarily things we were interested in outside of work.”

In 2013, Nawaz told Wasteney about some health concerns.  Wasteney offered to pray for the woman she thought was a friend and did so.  She also gave the woman a book about a Muslim that turned to Christianity.

Nawaz then rushed to their employer alleging that Wasteney was attempting to witness and convert her.

After suspending Wasteney for nine months with pay, a disciplinary panel last year declared that Wasteney was guilty of “bullying and harassment” for talking about her faith and praying over her sick co-worker even though the co-worker gave permission.  She was given a written warning and allowed to resume working but not in her specialized field.

“I knew she was from a different faith background and I was respectful of that. I didn’t force my beliefs on anyone at any point. Surely there should be room for mutual conversations about faith, where appropriate, in the workplace?” she said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I am extremely disappointed with the tribunal’s decision to side with my employer,” Wasteney continued. “There is already an unnatural caginess around faith and belief which is an obstruction to building meaningful relationships in the workplace.”

Lifted on the Wings of Prayer!

We recently had our Ready Now Expo and it was amazing!  Hundreds and hundreds of our loving partners joined us on Grace Street for the tapings of the Jim Bakker show.  As I was sitting on the set, waiting for filming to begin, I looked out on all of those beautiful faces.  Gratitude chills went up and down my spine.  I could not help but remember this past year and my battle with Hepatitis C and the outpouring of intercession and prayer from thousands of people on my behalf.  Wonderful people like those that were out on Grace Street smiling back at me. Continue reading →