Evangelist Franklin Graham has issued his congratulations to the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, but urged Christians to remember that every candidate is "only human" and will "ultimately fail" without God in the equation.
"Congratulations are in order for Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump this morning after his win in Indiana makes him the presumptive nominee for his party. We need to continue to pray for major change in Washington and in our country through whoever is elected. Let's pray for God's will to be done and that He will give this nation leaders at every level who will look to Him for wisdom and direction," Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted to Facebook on Wednesday morning.
He added, "Regardless of who your candidate of choice is-or was-remember, they are only human. Without God in the equation, they will ultimately fail. Our hope can't rest in any candidate or political party-the only hope for America is in God and His Son, Jesus Christ."
The evangelist, who left the Republican Party late last year and declared himself an independent, is currently traveling across the country for The Decision America Tour, which seeks to campaign for God and encourage Americans to turn back to the Lord.
"We're asking God to forgive our sins and heal our land. Let's pray for a movement of repentance of our sins to sweep across this nation," he wrote, quoting Psalm 20:7, which reads, "'Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
Speaking in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, Graham told thousands to vote and run for public office because sin and rising secularism are putting America in jeopardy.
"We're here today because our country is in trouble. We're in trouble spiritually, racially, economically, politically, and I can tell you right now there's no one political party that's going to turn this around," he said, according to The Tennessean.
"Take your communities back. The devil's got them. Let's get them back," he continued. "There's more of us than there is of them. We can just not afford to be silent anymore. We may not have another opportunity as a nation like this again, so you've got to vote."
In a recent op-ed for Decision magazine, Graham said that in an increasingly secular and sinful society, biblical principles and values have had a lessened impact upon education, government and politics.
He said he has lost hope for either the Democratic or Republican parties and warned that if the country doesn't turn back to God, it will experience a fall from grace.
"Unless we repent and turn quickly to Him for forgiveness and restoration, our nation will no longer be the city on the hill that has helped bring the illuminating light of biblical truth to the world."
