Fifty Days of Prayer for the National Election 2012 – Day 29

Day 29 October 16th
Focus: Party Platforms
Heavenly Father,
We are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in our land. (Deut. 32: 28) Have mercy on us. “May the word of our rulers bring rest; may they be able to discern good and evil. May the LORD our God be with them.” (2 Sam. 14: 17) We pray that You will give our rulers discerning hearts to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours? (1 Kings 3: 9) Teach the leaders of the nations to discern what is right; teach them to learn altogether what is good. (Job 34: 4) Appoint rulers for us who are Your servants; we beseech You to give them discernment that they may understand Your statutes. (Ps. 119: 125) We pray that our rulers will be wise and will listen and add to their learning. We pray that they will be discerning and seek guidance. (Prov. 1: 5) We pray that Your appointed leaders will preserve sound judgment and discernment, and not let them out of their sight. (Prov. 3: 21) May all in authority declare that all the words of Your mouth are righteous; there is nothing contrary to truth or crooked in them. Your Words are all plain to those who understand and open their hearts, and right to those who find knowledge and live by it [to the discerning]; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. (Prov. 8: 8-9) May our rulers live on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deut. 8: 3) 
On Same-Sex Marriage and Civil Unions 
Democrat Party Platform
Supports the movement for equal treatment under the law for same-sex couples. 
Republican Party Platform
Affirms the rights of states and the federal government not to recognize same-sex marriage. Backs a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. 
Homosexuality is against God’s law. 
Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin. (Lev. 18: 22)
If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. (Lev. 20: 13)

 

Do you not realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality… (1 Cor. 6: 9)
The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching. (1 Tim. 1: 10) 
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. (Romans 1: 26-27) 
Sexual acts outside of marriage is against God’s law 
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. (Eph. 5: 3) 
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from fornication. (Acts 15: 20) 
Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For fornication is a sin against your own body. (1 Cor. 6: 18) 
Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, fornication, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.(2 Cor. 12: 21) 
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, fornication, lustful pleasures, (Gal. 5: 19)
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, fornication, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. (Eph. 5: 3) 
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, fornication, lust, and evil desires. Do not be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. (Col. 3: 5) 
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin and fornication.(1 Thess 4: 3) 
For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. (1 Thess. 4: 7) 
Heavenly Father,
These passages are difficult to read and digest, for we live in a generation that tolerates and promotes all sexual behavior. We are becoming inured to the focus on sexuality in our world and the flagrant and scandalous behavior of our national figures and celebrities. We pray that we will accept Your teachings and not be influenced by the world’s standards. You have said that anyone who does these things is detestable to You, and because of these detestable practices You will drive out those nations before you. (Lev. 18: 12) You detest men of perverse hearts, but You delight in those whose ways are blameless. (Prov. 11: 20) You warn us that we are not to be the ones who justify ourselves in the eyes of men, for You, God, know our hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in Your sight. (Luke 16: 15) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor. 5: 10) 
We pray that we will be pure in Your sight: for if we are pure and upright, even now You will rouse Yourself on our behalf and restore us to our rightful place. Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false: he will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Create in us a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within us. How can we keep our ways pure? By living according to Your Word. You, LORD, detest the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to You. Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right. May we be pure in heart, for we will be blessed and we will see You. To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. May we do everything without complaining or arguing, so that we may become blameless and pure, Your children without fault in a crooked and depraved generation. May we shine like stars in the universe, offering forth the word of life, so that we may rejoice on the day of Christ that we did not run or labor in vain. May we think on those things that are true: whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent or praiseworthy. May we flee the evil desires of our youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen. 
(2 Sam 22: 27; Ps 24: 3-5 NIV; Ps 51:10; Ps. 119: 9; Prov. 15: 26; Prov. 20: 11; Matt 5: 8; Phil 2: 14-16; Phil 4: 8; 2 Tim 2: 22) 
Pray also for tonight’s second debate between the two Presidential candidates. 
You are the Lord, and You change times and seasons; You set up kings and depose them. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. (Dan. 2: 21) We pray for tonight’s debate, that You continue to reveal to the American public who is wise in heart and discerning. Knowledge comes easily to the discerning and a discerning man keeps wisdom in view. The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out. Father, rescue us from foolish leaders whose mouths feed on folly. The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, and a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. Lord, give us a leader who is discerning and wise, not because we deserve this, but because You are a God of mercy. We pray You arrange another opportunity for the American public to discern the stark differences in the candidates and their platforms. We pray that “spin”, personal attack, canned (and shallow) talking points, deceit, false promises, and a re-writing of history will be evident and discarded by tonight’s American viewership. In Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen. (Prov. 16: 21; Prov. 15: 14; Prov. 10: 13; Prov. 14: 6; Prov. 17: 24; Prov. 18: 15) 
“I pray that our nation may experience a continuance of the Divine blessings, by which it has been so signally favored.” (James Madison, 4th President of US) 
Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. (New Hampshire Constitution, 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V.)