Dear Friends,

As we begin 2024 and look ahead, there are many topics looming large as major cultural, political and spiritual issues in our country. That’s why we want to start this year inviting you to join the Family Policy Alliance team in prayer for our nation.

Here are four of the most important issues that we are praying over as we have entered into the new year. (Be sure to see the end of this email for an opportunity to join us for prayer in a live online event tomorrow.)

Life

Pro-abortion forces are diligently and persistently seeking to challenge pro-life laws in nearly a dozen states this year by placing the outright legalization of abortion for any reason directly on the ballot. (So far, these are the states facing this challenge: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.) If these efforts follow previous patterns, the abortion industry’s tactics will be dishonest and deceptive. Pro-life voters must push back with the truth and most importantly, show up to vote for life!

We are praying that:

Transgender Agenda

The transgender agenda is fiercely aggressive, and its messages lurk everywhere seeking to entice children into life-long decisions that lead to pain, regret and suicide. The hollow promise to children is one of ultimate self-determination as the solution to the challenges they face. In the end, however, it is a lifetime of dealing with the consequences of denying the reality of God’s creation of them as male or female.

We are praying that:

Parental Rights

Related to the prior topic, parents have, in recent years, become more aware of how schools are pushing numerous harmful agendas on their children. Whether it is transgender indoctrination, critical race theory, normalization of homosexuality or provision of pornography in reading materials, parents must be aware and vigilant when it comes to not only schools, but also doctors’ offices, libraries, social media and the entertainment industry, among many others who actively seek to push harmful ideas and abnormal worldviews on innocent children.

We are praying that:

Elections

This year brings us to another presidential election. We have seen nearly three years of radicalism, whether it be the taxpayer funding of abortion, attempts to erode religious freedom or the proliferation of transgender mandates throughout the entire federal government. This election has the chance to determine whether or not these dangerous abuses of power will be allowed to continue.

We are praying that:

These are but four issues (among many) that we see as critical for this year and they are just a beginning of where we would invite God’s influence in our culture.

Please add your own prayers to these as we move through the coming months. We encourage you to share these with your family and friends as well as your prayer groups, small groups and Sunday school classes.

You are invited to join us online tomorrow for a prayer livestream as we talk about and pray over these issues as well.

LIVE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
SoCon Report or by clicking the image below

9:00am PT / 10:00am MT / 11:00am CT / 12:00pm ET

We hope you can join us tomorrow, but if not, please do keep these things in prayer and watch for periodic prayer updates from us as 2024 progresses.

Prayerfully,

Robert Noland
Director of Audience Engagement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In late 2020, we launched Under God, One Nation to engage Christians in prayer regarding timely issues that were affecting our nation. That prayer initiative has continued over the years since then.

Submitted below for your prayer time (and also for sharing with your church or Sunday School) is our current list of prayer topics.

Israel

In case you missed it: last week we hosted a prayer and update call on Israel with author Joel C. Rosenberg, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Pastor Greg Laurie. You can still watch that here!

US House of Representatives Speaker Race

Life

Transgender Issues

Government

To learn more about the things that Family Policy Alliance has been praying about over these past few years, please visit Under God, One Nation. There, you can sign up to get these prayer alerts more frequently and also join our prayer initiative by signing up to pray for our nation at a designated time of day.

 

Family Policy Foundation wants to wish you a Happy New Year!

As we once again turn the page leaving last year behind and looking into the new year, we anticipate changes on the cultural and political fronts not only in Washington, DC, but also in statehouses across the nation. Along with those changes comes a shift in the focus of our prayers and what we see emerging in the coming weeks and months.

Here are just a few of the things that we are praying about as 2023 gets underway.

Congress

Having just come through the 2022 elections, we now have a different political landscape that is sure to affect cultural and social issues across the board – we pray in a good way.

As new leadership will soon emerge in Congress, we are praying that the leaders chosen would be godly men and women who will seek to lead in ways that honor biblical truths in all aspects of their work. We know that the leadership in both Houses of Congress will be tested with difficult tasks and decisions. We pray that they would have wise counsel and reliable discernment that leads them to the right decisions regarding the business of our nation on issues like abortion, marriage and religious freedom, among others.

Statehouses

The same leadership decisions will be occurring in statehouses all across the nation as well. We pray that godly men and women would be selected in every instance. We anticipate progress on a number of vital issues in many states this year.

Abortion After Roe

It will be in statehouses where we see renewed efforts to protect life since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. We pray for wise and well-formulated efforts in this regard. That men and women of faith would stand up and adopt smart, effective policies to continue to move us toward a nation where abortion is unthinkable. We also pray that those who would seek to expand abortion would fail and that the truth about the abortion industry would be exposed in these efforts wherever they occur. To find out more about the current status of abortion in your state visit AfterRoe.

Protecting Minors

We are also praying about efforts to protect minor children from dangerous, unapproved, untested, unaccountable and unwarranted gender transition procedures. Every year, more and more confused children are compelled into life-altering procedures that often leave them scarred, regretful and physically debilitated and mutilated.

Along with our allies in the state family policy councils, we are launching efforts in many states to prohibit procedures to mutilate healthy body parts of young children in the name of the transgender agenda. We pray also for laws or regulations to hold medical professionals accountable for the grave harms done to children.

Visit Help Not Harm to learn more about this issue.

We pray for progress on these and other issues that greatly impact our culture and that godly wisdom and biblical standards would be upheld across our nation and in our culture.

Prayerfully,

Robert Noland
Director of Audience Engagement

PS – to receive prayer updates like this one, please sign up for our Under God, One Nation prayer team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friend,

As you know, we are very quickly approaching yet another national election. The problems and trials affecting our nation weigh heavy on our hearts and minds as we approach this important time of decision.

If you have been reading Family Policy Alliance’s email messages, you know that woke DC policies affect nearly every aspect of our lives and those of our children as well.

We at Family Policy Foundation invite you to join us in prayer as we enter the final stretch of the 2022 election. Many godly men and women are seeking office at all levels of government across the nation, and they need our prayers—as does our country.

While we all know politics is not the answer and no politician can fix what is really wrong in this world, we need to seek God’s favor in these important decisions that will impact our nation for years.

We also remember that we have the blessing to live in a nation where we can still cast ballots, share our beliefs and take action that seeks the good of the city and the welfare of the nation. Our freedoms are truly praiseworthy and not to be taken for granted.

Please join us in prayer for the following:

Thank you for praying with us. For more information and to receive prayer updates throughout the year please visit Under God, One Nation.

God bless,

Robert Noland
Director of Audience Engagement

Dear Friends,

I wanted to pass along to you a very timely and important opportunity to join in on a national prayer gathering related to the impending Supreme Court Decision in the Dobbs case. As you know the landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, which sought to legalize abortion in 1973 hangs in the balance and a decision could come any day.

The Dobbs decision will have many repercussions. We have updated our AfterRoe website with all the latest information. If you have read the news lately, you also know that intimidation and violence surrounding this eventual decision is ramping up across the nation.

It is for these reasons that this evening a number of national and state groups are engaging in a prayer assembly for the Dobbs decision and the effects it is now having (and others it will soon have) on our nation.

You are invited to join in-person if you are in Chattanooga, TN or you can participate from anywhere online at the link below.

Here are the details:

What – Virtual Prayer, Solemn Assembly
RE: Upcoming Dobbs Decision on Roe. Wade

Where – Chattanooga, Calvary Chapel
3415 Broad Street, Chattanooga

When – Thursday, June 9
6:30-8:00 PM Eastern Time / 5:30 – 7:00 Central Time
4:30 – 6:00 Mountain Time / 3:30 – 5:00 Pacific Time

Admission is free or join online HERE.
https://calvarychatt.online.church/

Even if you cannot join this gathering this evening (in person or online), we are with you in prayer for this and so many other issues affecting our nation.

God bless,

Robert Noland
Director of Audience Engagement

For years, Coach Kennedy would pray quietly on the 50-yard line following his games. Then, one day, the school fired him simply for praying by himself. 

Now, his case is headed to the Supreme Court, where our friends at First Liberty Institute will be defending his God-given right to pray.

This case isn’t just about Coach Kennedy, though. It’s about the right of Americans across the country – especially teachers and coaches – to be able to simply pray.

Want to show your support for Coach Kennedy and the right to pray? Here’s what you can do:

  1. Join us in a national day of prayer for Coach and his case.

Coach Kennedy was fired for praying on the 50-yard line. So, on Sunday April 24th, we’re calling on Americans around the country to gather on school 50-yard lines (or wherever you can) to pray for Coach, for his case, and for the freedom to pray in our country.

Invite your friends and family to join you! It’s easy with the information and free flyers at #Pray50, a joint project of Family Policy Alliance and Focus on the Family.

Plus, when you gather, be sure to share on social media by using #Pray50. Let’s show Coach Kennedy how many people are praying for him – and show the power of prayer!

  1. Meet Coach Kennedy!

Hear straight from Coach Kennedy and one of his lawyers at First Liberty. Learn how Coach got started praying after games (hint: he was inspired by a movie), how he got fired, what he’s learned in this process and why he’s standing up for the right to pray across the country. Plus, learn what this case could mean for you and what you can do to help protect religious freedom.

Prayer is a God-given right. No one should be fired simply for praying by themselves.

Will you join us in praying for Coach Kennedy and showing him our support?

Hope to see you soon!

Meridian Baldacci
Director of Strategy

 

P.S. Don’t forget to watch our livestream, then invite your friends to pray at a 50-yard line near you on Sunday, April 24th.

 

 

 

Please join Family Policy Alliance as we pray for families in Ukraine.

After months of posturing, we have now seen Russia invade its neighbor Ukraine.

This violent invasion is already affecting Ukrainian families who have been displaced or lost loved ones just in the hours since the attacks began. And it will continue to harm families in both Ukraine and Russia, as they bear the far-reaching consequences of Putin’s decision to invade.

Today, we join Christians around the globe in praying for these families, and we invite you to join us in that prayer.

Years ago, I had the privilege of being a part of a ministry trip to Ukraine. I left a part of my heart there, and I am still overwhelmed by God’s love for the people of Ukraine. They have endured some of the darkest periods in world history. They have suffered horrific oppression. And yet, they have overcome. They are deeply committed to defending their freedom and sovereignty – a commitment Americans know well.

Ukrainian believers are humble and devoted to Christ. A friend of mine who is currently a missionary there shared a few ways we can pray for Ukraine. I encourage you to use them and share with others:

Thank you for praying for the families of both Ukraine and Russia who are suffering in different ways because of the decisions of the Russian leaders. God loves the people of both nations and desires for them to know His love and freedom.

Standing with Ukraine,

Nicole Hudgens
Government Affairs

 

 

The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer
of the upright pleases him. Proverbs 15:8

 

Just over a year ago, we asked you to be in prayer for our nation. You signed up to join us in praying regularly for the nation, and we thank you for being with us in this effort.

It has been a little while since our last update. Even though it has been busy, we know you have been there right along with us faithfully praying for different issues affecting our nation day in and day out. While there are still plenty of challenges facing our nation, we have much to be thankful for!

Here is the latest update in our ongoing prayer initiative Under God, One Nation.

First, the good news! By God’s grace, numerous efforts to advance harmful and dangerous polices in Congress have failed over the past 12 months. Here are just a few of those things:

While it is good that these efforts have not succeeded, there has been a multitude of efforts by the Left to enact the same or similar initiatives through the Biden Administrative state. For example, the President has used executive orders to enact certain parts of the Equality Act for a number of functions in the government. He has also reestablished full funding for Planned Parenthood that was halted in a previous administration. These are deeply troubling developments for our nation which require continued prayer.

In what has been perhaps the most notable good news, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld one major abortion law in Texas, and the Court has also heard arguments in a recent case directly challenging Roe v. Wade – the first to do so in many years.

We  praise God for His great forbearance, the advancement of His truth and His attention to every single prayer for our nation!

At the same time,  as we are now in the 2nd year of the Biden administration, we want to renew our calls for prayer over all that faces our nation.

Here are some of the most prominent issues we see now and into the next few months of 2022:

Thank you for being part of our Under God, One Nation prayer initiative! We know that prayer for our nation and our lawmakers is foundational to the process of seeking His favor and blessing for our nation.

In prayer,

Robert Noland
Director of Audience Engagement

P.S. – You can always visit the Under God, One Nation webpage to see past updates. Please also share the page with family, friends and your Bible study or Sunday school class so they too can sign up for a prayer time and receive these updates.

 

Department of Defense Image*

Last week our great nation lost thirteen brave service members to a craven terrorist attack at the Kabul airport. Family Policy Alliance is calling for prayer not just for their families, but for the families of all service members who have fought and sacrificed during the war in Afghanistan. As an officer veteran of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), I have seen the toll this conflict has taken on the physical and behavioral health of our warfighters and their families. The blood of my friends and brothers in arms stains the Afghan earth, and the tears of their families continue to grace our own land. We must pray for the physical and emotional comfort, healing, and recovery for all our service members and their families these past two decades, particularly those who have tirelessly endured assisting in the recent chaotic evacuation.

This evacuation reveals much, but the Biden’s Administration’s disregard for families here and around the world is perhaps the most troubling. Because of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan that the Biden Administration deliberately enabled, families throughout Afghanistan will suffer at the hands of extreme Islam. Women and girls will be particularly oppressed, losing equality, freedom, opportunity, and security. We therefore also call for prayer on behalf of the nuclear family in Afghanistan: that families throughout the country will be protected, shielded, and allowed to flourish even under the pressure of a jihadist regime.

America has always been a beacon of hope for families; may we continue to be in our prayers and deeds in the wake of this calamity.

In prayer,Joseph Kohm
Joseph Kohm
Joseph Kohm III
Public Policy Director

 

 

* The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? – Isaiah 14:27

As we continue to roll along in 2021, a lot is happening across the nation. There are bright spots among a number of other rather dark developments. Through it all, one thing is sure: we know who is in control of all that happens, and nothing that happens is unknown by our Creator.

Here is the latest prayer update in our ongoing prayer initiative Under God, One Nation.

The Hyde Amendment

As we have shared before, the Hyde amendment is a long-standing policy that has been included in Congressional spending bills for decades to prevent taxpayer money from funding abortion (in most cases). President Biden and many on the left want to eliminate the Hyde Amendment so that government can begin to use taxpayer funds for abortions in any instance.

We are now in the season when Congress is working on annual spending bills and there is an all-out war to rip the Hyde Amendment out of those bills. It is likely that Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representatives will remove this essential pro-life provision in the coming weeks. Fortunately, if that does happen, Republicans and even a few Democrats in the Senate have pledged to oppose any spending bill that does not have Hyde’s protections. That is good news because as we have noted before, there is a requirement for 60 votes to advance legislation in the Senate. God willing, and as long as conservatives and a few key Democrat senators stand strong, these spending bills will fail to advance in the Senate.

We continue to pray for pro-life protections in all Congressional and federal government activity and we pray against the political forces advancing the culture of abortion. We pray for the strength and resolve of those who will stand in the gap to protect life.

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation and The Equality Act

There has been a lot happening in this particular area over the past few weeks. Here is a quick rundown.

Equality Act –

The House passed the Equality Act in February. After a hearing or two, the bill has been sitting idle in the Senate for some time. While it was expected that the bill would receive action in June, that did not occur. We have heard that the outcry from voters against the bill as well as the multiple efforts to protect women’s and girls’ sports had a significant impact on stalling this bill in Congress. Much of that is thanks to your willingness to speak out! Moreover, to pass anything, the Senate would need 60 votes. It is unclear why the bill has not come up for a vote, but it could be that there are not yet 60 votes to pass it in the Senate at this time.

We continue to pray that those who oppose the Equality Act will stand strong and not cave to the intense pressure they are sure to feel in the coming months.

Title IX –

Since the Equality Act has not yet been approved, the Left has seized upon other means to accomplish their goals administratively—without having to go through the work of the legislative process.  For example, the Biden administration effectively gutted Title IX protections for girls and women in recent weeks. This came as a major hat-tip to the LGBT community during their effusive PRIDE Month. The Biden Administration’s action completely redefined the word “sex” in the law – which means male and female – to instead include “gender identity,” the idea that you can be whichever sex you feel like. That undermines the very purpose of the law, which was originally enacted in the 1970’s to give girls and women more access to educational opportunities, including athletics. Now, the Department of Education is ironically using the law to put girls at risk of losing athletic opportunities, while at the same time permitting members of the opposite sex to invade private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms in schools.

“Birthing People”–

In another bizarre move, some on the far Left in Congress, attempting to remove basic ideas of sex from even motherhood, began referring to mothers as “birthing people”.

Other Bills –

While the Equality Act has not advanced, there are at least 100 other bills in Congress that include similar proposals. Some opportunists in Congress see the advantage of including pieces of the Equality Act in many different proposals – hoping that no one will notice. They hope that once a few of them are passed the rest will follow along.

We continue to pray that these efforts will fail, and that no girl will be harmed or endangered by these ill-conceived changes. We also pray that administrative efforts to enact radical LGBT mandates will fail after meeting intense opposition. Similarly, we pray that subversive efforts in Congress will be exposed in every instance and thwarted. Because administrative changes like these do not have the permanency of enacted law, we also pray that the next administration will have the determination to root out all of these changes.

Filibuster –

As we have shared before, the filibuster is a procedural rule in the US Senate that requires 60 votes to advance any particular legislation to a final vote.

Right now, we know that there are at least two Democrat Senators (maybe more) who are standing strong against changing this rule. With the 50-50 split in congress, those now opposed would have to agree to a change in the rule for it to occur. The importance of this point cannot be overstated – as long as the filibuster remains, the bar to pass radical legislation like the Equality Act is high enough to preclude a lot of bad things from happening.

We continue to pray that the filibuster will remain in place and that the Senators who are receiving pressure to change it will stand strong no matter what. We are also praying that any efforts to get around the filibuster or weaken it would fail.

Supreme Court –

In recent weeks, the Supreme Court has issued a few positive rulings – here are the three most important.

  1. The court ruled unanimously to preserve the religious freedom of Catholic Charities adoption services to only certify married man and woman couples for foster care or adoption, based on their faith.
  2. The Court also ruled that state laws requiring non-profits to release donor lists was unconstitutional. This is a win for people of faith who want to privately support important causes!
  3. Lastly, the Court has upheld the right of states to pass voter ID requirements and other important provisions that preserve the integrity and safety of elections.

These three rulings are particularly important because each one of them strikes a severe blow to certain pieces of legislation that many on the Left were seeking to rush through Congress this year. The recent attempt to federalize elections has been severely hampered by the 2nd and 3rd rulings noted above. (One vote on one of the election ‘reform’ bills failed in recent weeks.)

These three rulings are a relief, but they also raise the specter of those on the Left who wish to change the Supreme Court. For some, their goal is to expand the Court so that the Biden administration has an opportunity to add more left-leaning judges in order to restore what the Left calls ‘balance’ on the Court.

We are praying prayers of thanksgiving for these rulings and the direction that they represent from the Court. We are also praying against the forces that would manipulate the system in order to pack the court with ideological leftists. As noted above, we are praying that the filibuster holds as it is the stopgap preventing this proposal from advancing as well.

Save Girls Sports –

As a quick update, 8 states passed Save Girls’ Sports legislation this year—with possibly Texas joining in as the 9th. Those states chose to elevate the matter to state law and in so doing pushed back against the national movement to impose sexual orientation and gender identity policies. These states now have drawn a line in the sand and created an opportunity to challenge the Biden Administration’s concerning actions on Title IX (mentioned above).

We are thankful for the men and women who stood strong during their state legislative sessions to get these laws enacted. We especially pray for Texas to show its strength in joining as the ninth state to protect their daughters’ sports and hope more states will take the necessary steps to enact these laws in 2022.

Prayers for LGBT Individuals –

Finally, as noted above, June has been deemed by many as LGBT PRIDE month. While many see it as a month of promoting a lifestyle and exploiting corporate and national sympathies to advance an agenda, we see it as an opportunity to pray for those trapped in LGBT lifestyles. At the beginning of June, Meridian Baldacci, our Policy and Communications Strategist, launched a new video series called Ask Meridian. Her first video was a heartfelt message about how to address these issues with LGBT individuals and perhaps more importantly, how we can be praying for those individuals. It was an excellent video, especially helpful to those of us who know LGBT individuals but are unsure whether we should approach the issue with them and if so, how to do it. You can read more and watch the video HERE.

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 Manger