May 2, 2013
California Pastor Greg Laurie opened the National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon, despite opposition from gay rights groups.
Laurie is the honorary chairman of the 2013 National Day of Prayer. The Human Rights Campaign and Outserve had urged the Pentagon to withdraw its invitation to Laurie because he teaches that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
Laurie says, “I’m not trying to censor anybody else and I don’t think they should try to censor us.”
“We have done our best to removed God’s Word and His counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture,” Laurie wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News Thursday. “Despite the fact that we, as a nation, have largely forgotten God, the good news is: God has not forgotten us. He still can bless and redeem our country.”
“They do not want me to pray. They describe me as ‘homophobic’ and so forth. How can you deal with such a situation? We’re in a time in our country now where I’m attacked because I believe what the Bible teaches,” said Laurie, ahead of Thursday’s National Day of Prayer.
“If people want to make it all about that I’m not going to back down. In the immortal words of the great theologian Tom Petty, ‘I won’t back down,’ I won’t. I’m not going to apologize.”
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Prayer by Pastor Greg Laurie, honorary chairman for the NDOP in Washington, DC, May 2nd, 2013:
Father, we come to You to pray for our nation, the United States of America.
How You have blessed us through the years, Lord! We rightly sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Yet we see trouble in our culture today. We see the breakdown of the family, crippling addictions, and random acts of horrific violence.
Lord, we need Your help in America. In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms, and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have “forgotten God.” But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again.
Scripture tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times of refreshing, and revivals that changed not only the spiritual but also the moral landscape. As the psalmist said, “Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6).
That is our prayer for America today, Lord. Send a mighty spiritual awakening that will turn the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, back to you. You have told us if we will humble ourselves and pray, and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, that You will forgive our sins and heal our land (2 Chronicles7:14).
Forgive us today, Lord, and heal this troubled land that we love so much.
We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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The 2014 National Day of Prayer was May 2nd.
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Ray R Barmore
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