Christians across the nation began a 24-hour prayer event Monday afternoon, the eve of the historic U.S. presidential election.
The National Prayer on Election Eve began at 3 p.m. and will run until 3 p.m. Tuesday with the purpose of praying for repentance and God’s mercy as Americans head to the polls to elect the next president of the United States of America.
Organizers are encouraging local churches to set a convenient time for their congregation to gather and pray for the country at this momentous time.
Some participating organizations spoke about the wrong path they see the nation going down on, describing the country as “morally blind” and its citizens as “destroying ourselves and our children.”
Michael DePrimo, spokesperson for American Family Association, Inc., chronicled what he called the American “descent into darkness” that began with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the 1960s that Bible reading and prayer in public schools were unconstitutional.
Then a few years later, he noted, the High Court removed the Ten Commandments, after which mothers were given the constitutional right to kill babies through abortion and citizens had the right to possess and distribute hardcore pornography.
"And now courts are declaring that homosexual marriage is constitutionally protected,” lamented De Primo. “These court decisions reflect the pitiful state of our national soul."
“Our only hope for national renewal is to cry out to God for mercy and to ask Him to change the heart of the American people one by one,” he stated. “This is a call to prayer. A call to repentance. That's the only thing that will save our country. And time is running out."
Fellow prayer initiative supporter Eduardo Verastegui, actor and producer of the award-winning 2007 pro-life film “Bella,” declared that the nation needs to pray to stop abortions.
Verastegui said he was “shocked” to learn that most abortion centers are located in Hispanic and minority-dominated neighborhoods.
“It broke my heart when I discovered that more than 650 Latino babies are killed every day by abortion in the U.S.,” he said. “We need to put an end to abortion – and political candidates play a very important role in this matter."
The two presidential candidates contrast when it comes to the abortion issue. Republican candidate Sen. John McCain has an unbroken pro-life Senate voting record while Sen. Barack Obama is an adamant supporter of a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion.
“In this election, so crucial for our children – and our children's children – let's unite to pray,” said EHTV Esperanza-Hope Entertainment president Suzette Chaires. “It will make a tremendous difference in the lives of all Americans – and our entire country."
The highly-anticipated U.S. presidential election takes place Tuesday, Nov. 4.
