An Evangelical Christian leader Franklin Graham asked for a day of prayer on June 2, 2019 to favor/ protect the republican President Donald Trump over his enemies like the Democrats, the ‘Never Trumpers,’ those who are part of the free press and something called the ‘Deep State.’

There is a movie titled the “Trump Prophecy” where Evangelical audiences are the willing recipients of a propaganda campaign reinforcing the concept that God has sent President Trump to champion Evangelical causes.

See:  theguardian.com/ The chosen one? The new film that claims Trump’s election was an act of God”

See:  Evangelicals Have Out-Sized Influence In President’s Crafting Of US Foreign Policy

Franklin Graham’s kind of praying is not how most of us who claim the Christian mantel, pray.  Remember the line in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Most of us pray for God to guide the path of our leaders, to bless this country, to thank Him for everything he does, to seek forgiveness and mercy, to ask for favors like healing, etc. We get that God made all of us and that we all have value in His Eyes. This means that God also loves the Democrats, the Never Trumpers, those in the free press and those supposedly part of the “deep State.”

There are those who think that Mr. Graham’s form of prayer is blasphemy. I call it witchcraft whenever a professed Christian attempts to tell God what to do, like he or she has all the answers. Note that these Evangelicals unilaterally lack the trait of humility.

Here’s the rest of the story…

On June 3, 2019, Michael Gerson of the Washington Post penned the following commentary, “Franklin Graham has played his ultimate Trump card”

Excerpts:

“I pray for President Trump at least once a week. “Grant to the president of the US,” says the Book of Common Prayer, “and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will.”

“This is, or at least should be, noncontroversial for a Christian. The Apostle Paul urged Timothy to pray “for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” Though it is difficult to associate tranquility, quietness, godliness or dignity with our current king, the requirement stands.”

“Yet the Rev. Franklin Graham’s declaration last week for a “special day of prayer for the President, Donald J. Trump” on Sunday had a very different theological flavor. Graham made clear that the real purpose of the event was not to pray for the president, but to pray in his political favor. “President Trump’s enemies continue to try everything to destroy him, his family and the presidency,” Graham said. “In the history of our country, no president has been attacked as he has.” The American Family Association described the day of prayer as a type of “spiritual warfare,” necessary because Trump’s many accomplishments “make him very unpopular with the Devil and the kingdom of darkness.”

“Who are the “enemies” that Graham had in mind? Who represents “the kingdom of darkness”? The Democratic Party? Robert S. Mueller III and the “deep state”? Never-Trump Republicans?”

“However the conspiracy against the president is defined, I suppose I am part of it. Having been accused of serving the Prince of Darkness, I feel justified in making a frank response.”

“In their day of prayer, Graham and other Trump evangelicals have used a sacred spiritual practice for profane purposes. They have subordinated religion to politics. They have elevated Trump as a symbol of divine purposes. And they are using Christian theology as a cover for their partisanship.”

“So: This is blasphemy, in service to ideology, leading to idolatry, justified by heresy. All in a Sunday’s work.”

Most Christians are familiar with Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In Graham, we are seeing God in the hands of an angry political toady. Offended by the views and tactics of Trump’s opponents, Graham decided to play his ultimate trump card: calling for God to intervene on one side of a political and cultural struggle. This displays an inflated self-conception on Graham’s part. There is no evangelical pope by parentage. It also involves a miniaturized view of God — one created in Graham’s own image. Who could possibly believe that the uncreated Creator, the ground of being, the source of justice, the great “I am,” could be at Graham’s beck and call in the defense of Trump? It is both an absurdity and an abomination.

Graham has become a prophet in exact reverse. Instead of calling out Trump’s cruelty and poor character, he excuses them. Instead of confronting corruption, Graham blesses it. His message reveals nothing about God’s priorities and everything about his own. He has found his pearl of great price — the political welfare of Trump — and has sold everything else to buy it.

“Why does this matter? Because genuine Christian influence is needed in American politics. Trump evangelicals could be making a broad, consistent defense of human dignity, including the unborn, the prisoner, the migrant and the refugee. They could be opposing verbal violence and dehumanization in our political discourse. They could be taking leadership in the difficult, ongoing process of racial reconciliation. They could be affirming and exemplifying the essential role of truth and honesty in the process of self-government. They could be defending the civil liberties of all religious people rather than seeking the protection of their tribe alone.”

“Yet for a Christian, this isn’t the most important thing at stake. Graham is at least nominally the head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association . Does he think that his servile devotion to Trump will clarify the Christian gospel in many minds, or obscure it? Does he think that more people, or fewer, will be open to following Christ after a day of partisan prayer?”

Link to article: washingtonpost.com/Franklin Graham has played his ultimate Trump card…