Dear Friends,
We are writing you today to call you to pray on April 30th. This date has spiritual significance in regards to not only governmental authority for the United States, but also the blessings of a covenant relationship with Almighty God.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation as a call to prayer and repentance to be exercised on April 30th, 1863. We know through scripture that God honors covenant and on the anniversary of this proclamation, April 30th, 2009, we are asking you to answer this prophetic call to prayer.
Here is an excerpt from the proclamation made by Abraham Lincoln: ”We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God…It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”
Click here to read the entire document from Lincoln's proclamation.
Earlier this month, prior to our Convergence ‘09: Raise Up an Army! conference, the leadership and state coordinators for the United States Reformation Prayer Network convened at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, TX for a time of prophetic intercession and seeking the Lord for strategy on how to pray into the upcoming year. As a result of this meeting, we felt we should set aside April 30th as a day of prayer for the nation, our government, and our President.
Why do we need such a day of prayer? As we look around our nation today, we see nothing less than a rupturing of our biblical foundations. The freedoms guaranteed under our Bill of Rights are being trampled upon with lightning speed.
The United States Reformation Prayer Network, and the United States Alliance for Reformation both feel and are in agreement that we must pray and intercede on April 30th through May 7th, the National Day of Prayer, not only to reaffirm covenant, but also to stand against what we believe to be a direct attack against our First Amendment rights in regards to our speech, which is dictated by our thoughts and beliefs.
The H.R.1913 Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 was in committee on April 22nd and was passed by the committee on April 23rd in a vote of 15-12. If passed by full House vote, this will expand protected classes to include "sexual identity" and "gender identity". Here is the following excerpt from H.R.1913 that every citizen should be concerned about:
SECTION 4
(1) IN GENERAL- At the request of a State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide…prosecutorial assistance…in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that—
(C) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the State, local, or Tribal hate crime laws.
We agree with the evaluation of the Family Research Council that “All people deserve to be protected from crime, and equal protection under the law means equal protection for ALL. In a hearing on this legislation last Congress, Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) admitted that under the legislation pastors could be arrested for hate crimes based on what they teach and preach, which is certainly a violation of free speech and an example of unfair treatment under the law.”
We believe this legal vernacular opens a dangerous door for people to be held criminally liable for their biblical beliefs, thoughts, and speech, which we believe is a direct violation of First Amendment rights, and the reason why ministers in the pulpit or anyone with dissenting voices should feel concerned over this bill.
It is interesting that protection of free speech granted us through our founding documents does not extend to the Christian community as evidenced by this video clip of the Justice House of Prayer youth in San Francisco, California, immediately after Propositon 8 passed. The JHOPers had been standing on this same corner for about three years simply singing worship songs.
In addition, after Prop 8 was passed in California, there were threats from the homosexual community against churches. It is possible that there will be violent protest as well should the decision is given by the California Supreme Court uphold this constitutional amendment passed by the people of California.
We are calling for prayer and action or prayer activism. If the judges or legislatures try to put homosexual marriage in place in clear violation of Romans 1, then please respectfully mount a prayer protest against what is happening. We cannot let these decisions in places like D.C., Vermont, Iowa, and other places go unchallenged. This includes action in response to abortion, such as the world's largest abortion clinic which is being finished in Houston, TX. It is our constitutional right of free speech to address these issues in a non-violent way in the same manner that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought injustice.
Standing in the gap for the nation,
Mike and Cindy Jacobs
