Proverbs 21:8: "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."
Christians across the United States are urged to pray for Reverend Franklin Graham, who boldly speaks the Biblical truth regarding hot-button issues such as Islam and homosexuality during a time when most Christian leaders shy away from doing so.
Graham, who is the son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham and the President and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, recently slammed U.S. President Obama for "giving a pass" to Muslims and refusing to acknowledge the "evil that is in front of him."
"[Obama's] mother was married to a Muslim. His father was a Muslim," Mr. Graham said during an "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" interview. "Then she married a man from Indonesia. He was raised in Indonesia. Went to Islamic schools. I assume she was a Muslim. So his whole life, his experiences have been surrounded by Islam. He only knows Islam. And he has given a pass to Islam."
The 62 year old speaker and author, who is widely considered the spokesperson for Evangelical Christians, later criticized the President's assertions that Islam is a religion of peace.
"Mr. President-no peaceful religion would tolerate, let alone practice, female circumcision, require a woman to have her husband's permission to leave her home and take up employment and restrict her ability to receive justice in the case of sex crimes," Graham says.
"Mr. President-a peaceful religion would not condone and allow a father to drown a daughter in a swimming pool in front of the family in the name of family honor because she might have stayed out late in the evening with her boyfriend, Mr. President-why haven't the 3.5 million Muslims in North America rejected this gross, barbaric and despicable behavior by their fellow Muslims on American soil?"
Rev. Graham has also openly addressed gay marriage, refusing to mince words in labeling homosexuality as "sinful." In 2014, he wrote an op-ed for Decision magazine emphasizing that "true followers" of Jesus "cannot endorse same-sex marriage" regardless of what President Obama, the Congress, the Supreme Court, or the media say about the issue, adding that marriage was "settled by God Himself" and cannot be modified by man.
He added, "In the end, I would rather be on the wrong side of public opinion than on the wrong side of Almighty God who established the standard of living for the world He created. Marriage is a biblically moral issue, not a political or theological one... No earthly court has jurisdiction over the infallible Word of God."
Religious leaders are urging Christians to unite in prayer for Rev. Graham, arguing he must be supported by much prayer at this time as he continues to courageously speak the truth in love.
"We are calling believers to support and pray for Franklin Graham," writes Mike Bickle, director of International House of Prayer in Kansas City. "He has boldly yet tenderly taken a biblical stance in warning America in relation to Islam, gay marriage and several other important subjects... May the Lord raise up many faithful witnesses to the truth about Jesus and His glorious love and salvation."
Jennifer LeClaire, director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also encourages Christians to pray for Rev. Graham, arguing that the evangelist displays strong discernment and enough boldness to go "toe to toe with the principalities and powers that have targeted Christians for destruction."
"I'm making an even more fervent call for intercessors to rise up and pray for Graham day and night," she writes in an article for Charisma magazine. "The enemy would like nothing more than to silence this mouthpiece for God who is confronting and pushing back darkness in our generation. Likewise, those who subscribe to anti-Christ agendas are raging against his voice. Saints, let's make it a priority to lift up Graham in prayer, wage spiritual warfare against the attacks on his life and bless his ministry. And while you're at it, pray for President Obama too. Amen?"
