“Franklin, what would your father have done?”
As Franklin Graham travels the nation on his Decision America Tour, he hears this question quite often. People want to know how Billy Graham would operate in the current political climate.
The answer, according to Franklin Graham, can be found in something his father said in 1952—the year Franklin Graham was born. He quoted his father recently at the Colorado prayer rally:
“I feel that we’re going to have to meet our political obligations as Christians and make our voice known if America is to be preserved with a type of Christian heritage which has given us the liberties which we now enjoy,” Billy Graham said back then. “For unless America turns back to God and repents of its sin and experiences a spiritual revival we will fail as a nation.’”
Thousands have turned out to Franklin Graham’s prayer rallies, many citing 2 Chronicles 7:14 as they declare a strong desire to see America return to God. But a poll recently released by the Barna Group offers some sobering insight into the mindset of many evangelicals.
The February poll examined how informed voters are about the 2016 presidential election. Simply put, who’s paying attention to the race for the nation’s highest political office?
Only 20 percent of evangelicals claimed to be following “very closely.” Non-Christian faiths, such as Islam and Buddhism, marked the highest level of engagement at 41 percent, while religious skeptics (atheists, agnostics) indicated 36 percent engagement.
Christians, Franklin Graham has stressed during his prayer rallies, cannot stay on the sidelines. He has repeatedly insisted that being involved in the political process isn’t just a luxury afforded Christians as American citizens. It’s a necessity if they’re interested in preserving the country’s Christian heritage.
“Our job as Christians is to make the impact of Christ felt in every phase of life—religious, social, economic, political—but we must not do it in our strength or wisdom,” Franklin Graham told thousands in Phoenix, Arizona, last month. “We can only do it as we surrender ourselves completely to God, allowing Him to work in our lives.”
Richard Blain of Silver Springs, Nevada, couldn’t agree more.
“I believe in Franklin Graham’s message,” said Blain, who attended the Nevada prayer rally. “As Christians, we need to take a forefront position in politics and run for office. I believe that if we don’t, what we see happening to America now is going to happen on a worse scale.
“We can’t sit back idly and not fight for this country and what this country was founded on.”
Franklin Graham has encouraged Christians that now is the time. In addition to surrendering to God, he urges believers to:
- Register to vote.
- Start prayer groups in their communities.
- Learn where candidates stand on issues, and pray about who to choose.
- Consider and pray about running for office, or encourage a Christian friend in that direction.
- Pledge to stand up for God and country.
Above all else, Franklin Graham says, pray. Seek what God has to say on each matter. Christians should never stop praying, he’s said, especially as they head to the polls—another non-negotiable.
The message has resonated with Kimiyo Brown, a 27-year-old University of Hawaii student, who attended the Hawaii prayer rally. She works with Campus Crusade for Christ and continually encourages students to exercise their civil liberty.
“I want to encourage them that they can make a difference,” Brown said. “Their vote does matter.”
Every vote counts, Franklin Graham stresses at every Decision America Tour prayer rally.
“Vote for candidates that stand for biblical truth and biblical principles and that are willing to live them,” Franklin Graham said in Colorado. “The choice in every election isn’t necessarily going to be crystal clear, but look for the one that best lines up who you think can lead this nation, the best one that’s going to make decisions for this nation and has a basic moral understanding and background. That’s what we need.”
