Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:5-7
Friends,
Shortly before Inauguration Day, Family Policy Alliance® launched a national prayer initiative, Under God, One Nation. You (along with over 1400 others!) signed up to join us in prayer for our nation. We are still praying, and we know you are too!
Since then, a lot has happened and there remains a multitude of things that we can pray for both nationally and in the states. Here are some of the most prominent issues we see currently and which we have been praying about in recent weeks:
The Hyde Amendment – Since 2016, the Democratic Party has included the repeal of the Hyde Amendment in its national platform. Their goal is to implement taxpayer funding of abortion nationwide. While Joe Biden had historically been a longtime supporter of the Hyde Amendment, he flip-flopped in 2020 and now supports its repeal – essentially advocating for publicly funded abortion.
In recent months, the Hyde amendment has been attacked as a racist policy. The truth is that the Hyde amendment has restrained Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses from targeting poor and minority communities with taxpayer funds. The Hyde amendment has stood in the gap against racism over the years and for the Left to claim otherwise is a political move to rewrite history in efforts to further proliferate the ability of abortion businesses to target minority women.
We continue to pray that such evil intentions would be thwarted and that pro-life policies would overcome these efforts.
Biden Gender Policy and the Equality Act – As expected, Joe Biden began signing executive orders hours after he was inaugurated. Some of those orders dealt with gender issues. We all know how dangerous this is for our nation’s social structure and especially for our military.
We need to continue to be in prayer as we have heard that Equality Act will be considered in Congress very soon (possibly next week) with the full support of Democratic leadership and President Biden. The Equality Act would erase virtually every sex-based distinction in our nation’s laws and open the door to persecution of any who adhere to biblical views of gender and marriage.
The pressure on many members of Congress will be intense as this effort unfolds. Pray for the steadfast strength of many to oppose this effort.
Filibuster – A well-known Senate debate rule has become the centerpiece of a lot of discussion in recent weeks. There is good reason – with the Senate split 50-50 Republicans to Democrats, Kamala Harris is placed in the very powerful position of breaking any tied votes in the Senate. The filibuster rule is key to preventing that from happening.
Currently, Senate rules require 60 votes to end debate and move most legislation to a final vote. That 60-vote requirement (the filibuster) has been around for generations. Despite efforts to outright repeal it, all have failed in the past whether the Senate was controlled by Republicans or Democrats. With the current 50-50 split, Democrats have considered scrapping the rule in order to push through their agenda, regularly using Harris as the deciding vote. Thankfully, not everyone in the Democrat party agrees with simply changing the rules for political gain.
Right now, two senators, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have stated that they are not interested in changing the rules of the Senate. Pray for them and their positions on this rule.
Clearly, requiring 60 votes to advance legislation is the key to stopping a lot of bad legislation in the current environment. Abortion and LGBT advocates, as well as other progressive forces all across the nation, know this and they will continue to pressure these two senators intensely in order to make it easier to advance their agendas.
Biden Cabinet Nominations – Joe Biden has nominated a number of progressive, radical individuals to lead federal agencies. Each has been chosen for a reason – whether it is a rabidly pro-abortion and anti-religious freedom record or a progressive stance on gender, each one promises to bring drastic change in national policy in federal agencies.
We continue to pray about those confirmation hearings and that those nominated individuals would know the Lord and the truth of His Word on these issues.
Election Integrity – Some in Congress are seeking to protect the integrity of our elections and how they are conducted. We support their stance and continue to pray their ideas would gain traction and that their efforts would prove successful.
Girls’ and Women’s Sports – All across the nation, courageous state legislators are using their positions to push back against the radical, progressive attack on girls and women’s sports. We know of more than 10 states that have introduced legislation to save girls’ sports and send a powerful message back to the Biden Administration’s radical gender agenda. We pray for boldness in their work and for the success of their efforts in every instance.
Abortion in New Mexico – In New Mexico, a radical abortion bill is advancing in the legislature. Led by a pro-abortion governor, who has been bent on eliminating the very few abortion restrictions in the state for several years, the legislature seems poised to approve this bill. Conscience protections for doctors and the very basic requirement of consent from a woman before having an abortion are on the chopping block. Please keep the state of New Mexico in your prayers.
LGBT Curriculum in New Jersey – New Jersey has been no stranger to the gender identity discussion. Just a year ago, the state enacted an LGBT curriculum requirement for junior high and high school students. Many parents were unhappy and have been fighting back since that time. This year, and despite assurances to the contrary, the legislature went one step further – enacting the curriculum all the way down to Kindergarten. New Jersey voters are extremely upset about this and are fighting back. Our ally on the ground, Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey, is leading the way and we pray for their continued advancement and engagement on this issue.
We appreciate you partnering with us in prayer. Please share this list with your church, your small group, your pastor and your Sunday School class in the coming days. Please encourage them to join you in signing up for a prayer time so that we can continue to lift the nation and these issues in the coming weeks and months.
Prayerfully,
Robert Noland
Communications Manager
