Evangelical leader Franklin Graham recently met with President-elect Donald Trump and prayed for both him and the country's future - and urged all Americans to do likewise.
Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and the current CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the disaster relief organization Samaritan's Purse, shared a photo of himself and Trump on his Facebook page and revealed that the two met at the Republican's last "Thank You Tour" stop in Alabama.
"Yesterday I had the privilege of joining with thousands of people in Alabama to pray for President-elect Donald J. Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, and to thank God for His hand of blessing on this nation. I was invited to lead in prayer at the final stop of their Thank You Tour," Graham wrote on Sunday.
"Donald Trump will become our president in just over a month, and he needs our prayers for wisdom as he puts together his administration. I encourage everyone - whether you voted for President-elect Trump or not - to come together and pray for him. God hears and works through the prayers of His people," he added.
Graham also said he prays the Electoral College ballot vote on Monday, which is set to finalize Trump's win in November, goes well.
"We need to pray that this goes smoothly," he wrote.
While he never endorsed any particular candidate during election season, the evangelist voiced his support for Trump on several different occasions.
"You may have to hold your nose and vote," he told The Christian Post I have people that say, 'Well I don't like Donald Trump, I don't like what he says.' Well I don't like what he said either, I promise I don't like it. But those are things that he said 11 years ago, not something that he said today. I think Donald Trump has changed. I think God is working on his heart and in his life.
He continued: "The Democratic Party has a vision, Hillary Clinton has a vision, Donald Trump has a totally different vision for this nation with the Republican Party. This isn't difficult to figure out if you are a Christian" adding "the Republican party has a platform where they support life, the unborn, they're very clear on these issues."
Following Trump's poll-defying win on November 8th, Graham said U.S. citizens didn't understand "the God-factor" in this year's presidential election.
Hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the United States had prayed over the election, he said. "This year they came out to every state capitol to pray for this election and for the future of America. Prayer groups were started. Families prayed. Churches prayed. Then Christians went to the polls, and God showed up," he stated.
"While the media scratches their heads and tries to understand how this happened, I believe that God's hand intervened Tuesday night to stop the godless, atheistic progressive agenda from taking control of our country."
He concluded: "I pray that President-elect Trump will surround himself with godly men and women to help advise and counsel him as he leads the nation."
