Wednesday, March 25, 2015
From: Carol Bauer
Capital Prayer Alert
Since the election, reports have surfaced that the administration may punish Israel and its democratically elected government by failing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Israeli people in various international organizations, chief among them the United Nations.
Over the next few days the Iranian nuclear talks will end with the framework for a deal either in place or not. Note: This deal requires us to take the word of the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
In the coming weeks, Congress will decide on its role in this fluid situation. Both the Senate and the House will have a role to play. The Senate will consider legislation allowing Congress to weigh in on the specific terms of any deal.
Will the Senate exercise its constitutional responsibility as outlined for it by our founders? Or will the Senate allow itself to be bullied into submission by a president, a trained constitutional lawyer no less, whose desire to burnish his personal legacy seems to trump even his responsibilities as commander-in-chief?
Last week over 360 members of the House, Republicans and Democrats in a veto proof show of solidarity, sent a letter to the president stating that Congress, not the president’s negotiating team, will decide whether economic sanctions on Iran are relaxed. Will the House move beyond the text of a letter to actual legislation?
A crossroads lies ahead for the Congress. Will the House and Senate abdicate their responsibility to the American people? Or will they act like a co-equal branch of government as enshrined in the Constitution? The days ahead are fraught with thorny issues for those elected to serve in public life.
Please pray for your members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Ask God to open their eyes to the enormity of the decisions that lie ahead. The votes cast over the coming weeks will not only impact these critical nuclear talks with Iran but will define the role and power of the Congress in its relation to the executive branch of government for years to come.
Pray that they will seek a time of solitude and prayer away from day to day partisan sniping as they seek the Lord’s guidance in implementing the oath of office each has been administered. Ask God to impress upon them the long-term consequences of their votes.
Finally, pray that each man and woman serving in Congress would make an individual decision based on facts, historical perspective and the impact of their actions on the children and grandchildren who will inherit a country defined by their choices. Pray that our elected legislators would take a very public stand with Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East.
The race for the presidency in 2016 is well underway. Exploratory committees have been or are being formed. Campaign staff are being assembled. Funds are being raised. Trips to early primary states have begun in earnest. Blueprints for policy changes are being developed. And the insatiable appetite of the press for hypocrisy or gotcha journalism moments is in full swing.
In the day of the 24-hour news cycle and widespread use of camera phones with video capability, the campaign dynamic is littered with opportunities for candidates to self-destruct. The spectacle that is the quadrennial road to the White House has begun!
Our family knows this process well since Gary ran for president and was on the ballot in the early primary states in the 2000 race. It is a grueling marathon for everyone involved. The demands on the time and attention of the candidate are enormous. Days are long, the stakes are high and chances for a misstep are present every day. These are the circumstances under which a long bench of potential candidates are now operating. Please keep the candidates and their families in your prayers.
Ask God to prompt those seeking the highest office to be discerning as they hone their message. Pray that each would craft a message that illustrates their priorities, direction and hopes for the future of our country while acknowledging underlying truths that have blessed this nation from its birth until now.
Protect each of them and their families from physical harm and from unwarranted personal attacks. Pray that those seeking the presidency would be firm in their beliefs, realistic in the challenges facing the country, but able to exude confidence and a can-do attitude which seems absent today.
Ask God to prompt each to the awareness of this critical time in the nation’s history as the freedoms we have fought for are being challenged on so many fronts. May each be moved to address issues of religious freedom both at home and elsewhere in the world.
Finally, pray that voters who are hearing from a wide array of potential candidates would look for strong leadership and moral clarity.
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