November 15, 2009 Prayer Guide

 

Dear Praying Friend,

Thanksgiving is a time during which we thank God for his bounty of blessings and his past faithfulness. Not often enough are we reminded of the Christian underpinnings of our nation – a nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” a nation “under God,” as President Abraham Lincoln reminds us from the fields at Gettysburg. 

 

In 1621, our Pilgrim forefathers celebrated their first successful harvest in a new world – with a feast of thanksgiving. President George Washington, calling on Americans to “unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions,” issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. From our earliest days as a nation, leaders from the local to the national level have proclaimed hundreds of days of prayer, of fasting, of repentance, and of thanksgiving – all in remembrance that men with a decidedly biblical worldview founded this special nation on Christian principles. 

 

Today, revisionist history largely ignores much of our early Christian heritage, and society caters to a secular humanist worldview. Removing God from a holiday conceived to remember Him enables man to deny truth and reality. Man, created in the image of God, was made to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [his] God.” (Micah 6:8b) This month, as you gather with family and friends, remember who God is, thank Him for his manifold blessings and pray for a return in our nation to the God of our forefathers. 

 

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends,

California Family Council

P.S. CFC’s bimonthly prayer guides can also be found online at www.californiafamily.org.

 

·       and praise God for the ballot victory in Maine earlier this month. Despite being vastly outspent and out-advertised, the people of Maine passed Question 1 to overturn the same-sex marriage law passed by their Legislature last spring. The victory makes Maine the 31^st state to protect marriage at the ballot, maintaining our nation’s perfect record when citizens have had the opportunity to vote on the issue.

 

·       that God’s truth of marriage as between one man and one woman would remain victorious in California – despite court challenges, petitions, future initiative drives, media blasts, and pro-homosexual voter-education campaigns. Pray that the people of California – and the nation – would discern the truth that marriage, a symbolic picture of the unity of Christ and his church, is the foundation of society and the safest place for bringing up children.

 

·       for the legal team representing Proposition 8 and the will of the people of California in the federal court challenge due to begin January 11, 2010. Pray for wisdom and discernment for the attorneys and that God would grant them favor and free them from opposition attacks.  Pray for the men and women on the front lines, defending marriage from attack.

 

·       that Californians – and citizens nationwide – would recognize the sound principles inherent in abstinence education – not the “safe-sex” comprehensive sex education espoused by many educators. Pray that policymakers would recognize the fallacy in pro-condom education and the truth that abstinence delays sex among teens. Pray that teens would make wise choices and not be swayed by the glitz, glamour, and lies of the media, their peers and, sometimes, their teachers.

 

·       with the advent of Thanksgiving later this month, pray that parents and grandparents will teach their children and grandchildren about the Christian heritage in our nation’s early history – an aspect that is often ignored in the public schools.

 

·       that parents would understand the insidious manner in which their children are being desensitized to biblical morality in public school. Pray that parents would judiciously take action to counter the lies of humanism that feed their children a man-centered worldview. 

 

·       and praise God for the godly principles upon which our nation was founded. As we reflect on our country’s heritage this Thanksgiving, praise God for his favor and for the freedom and independence we enjoy in the United States.

 

·       that thousands of California families would investigate adoption during November, a month set aside to raise awareness of adoption of youth from foster care. Pray for those who lovingly and courageously offer a home to a child growing up without the advantages of family and for the young adults who at 18 age-out of the foster-care system – often with little support.

 

·       while most Californians enjoy a pleasant Thanksgiving – feasting on autumn’s bounty and surrounded by family and friends – pray for those Californians who are struggling to make ends meet – alone, without a job, or reeling from financial or emotional setbacks.

 

·       As estimates of California’s present and future budget deficit numbers continue to skyrocket, pray that legislators would accept the futility of bandaid fixes and work cohesively to find real, workable solutions to California’s budgetary fiasco. The families of California are making hard choices; pray legislators would do the same with the state’s checkbook.

 

·       for families being destroyed by the sinful choices of a father or mother (or son or daughter) – choices to pursue adultery, pornography, or deception. Pray for conviction of sin, and healing for the wronged spouse and children left behind.

 

·       that California citizens will increasingly be exposed to a biblical worldview. Pray for the expansion of the message and lessons in the Truth Project, Focus on the Family’s DVD-based curriculum designed to impart a biblical worldview. Pray for the success and outreach of the CFC-hosted leader training event this month – November 21 in Paso Robles. Pray God would draw key individuals with receptive spirits, who are prepared to influence others for the cause of Christ. Pray for transformation in the lives of those who have participated in Truth Project groups nationwide.

 

United in passionate, effective prayer for California families