Prayer warriors: Are we winning in America?
When you look around at culture you may feel like our values have been defeated. It’s easy to let yourself be discouraged. But a wise person recently reminded me, don’t look at what’s not happening, look at what God is doing. And when you start looking for God’s hand at work, you may just feel differently about the state of our nation. Could we go as far as saying “we are winning?”
I think you can.
There is an increase in answered prayer in our nation. Yes, we are in a battle, and we see the darkness around us, but these measurable answers to prayer encourage us and build faith! Praise God for recent wins for the biblical values.
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Business impacted
Since Target introduced its Take Pride collection for children, the backlash has been big. In the first two weeks of May, when the company’s Pride controversy began to go viral, its market capitalization declined by $1.85 billion. It further eroded and by the end of May had fallen an additional $11.66 billion. The popularity of the brand is at its lowest level ever. Are Americans willing to change their shopping habits to stand for the protection of children? Good news — millions have!
Disney’s LGBTQ advocacy for children has grown and its agenda is now fully exposed. Parents and lawmakers are fighting back. Low attendance at Disney parks and flops at the box office illustrate the impact. The company lost $659 million in streaming last quarter. In March 2023, Disney officially opposed laws protecting kids from LGBTQ content in Florida, they have lost $50 billion and have the worst stock performance since 1974 — down 45% in 2023 alone. Even cultural giants can fall when we pray and take action.
After Bud Light featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a man who pretends to be a woman, in an ad campaign, consumers responded with a vigorous boycott and pushback. Bud Light fell from first place in the market to fourth and endured a stunning 34% decline in sales at high-volume bars and restaurants. Do consumers hold power? Yes. Yes, they do.
Parents pushing back
Parents in Virginia made national news for pushing back against harmful school officials and policies. Prayer and action affected change: new Virginia state education standards acknowledge parents’ rights over children, requires trans name changes in writing with parent approval, protect kids from having to use locker rooms and bathrooms with kids of different birth gender, and more. What praise!
When a public library featured graphic LGBTQ books as part of a Pride display in June, parents asked the library staff to remove the books. The library's board refused. So, the group mounted a campaign to stop funding the library with taxpayer money – and overwhelmingly won. The woke library will lose 84% of its budget. Taxpayers hold power. Praise God for these engaged citizens — and voters.
Boldness growing
Risking career, security, reputation, and even safety, whistleblowers expose wrongdoing and cover-up, reporting systematic or top-down abuse, fraud, and mismanagement that would otherwise remain hidden. Joseph Ziegler, a Democrat, is an IRS criminal investigator with more than 12 years of experience who exposed the Bidens and the FBI corruption and cover-up before the 2020 election.
In 2016, influencer Milo was heralded as a hero, gaining fame in the MTV documentary "Transformation." She chronicled the beginning of her transition to live as a male. She said she felt “invincible.” Milo has returned to the screen, as a female again, sharing her regret for her transition. Milo is not alone. Chloe Cole is an outspoken detransitioner and advocate for children, speaking recently at a Teens Against Gender Mutilation event, undergirded in prayer by IFA Massachusetts State Prayer group. It’s an answer to the prayers of many who have prayed for these young people who have been deceived. Keep praying — it’s working.
Growing numbers believe birth gender should determine sports participation, up from 62% in 2021 to 69%, according to a Gallup poll. The International Cycling Body banned men from competing as women. The Miss Italy pageant banned men from competing as women. The Miss United States of America pageant sued, and won, to ban men from competing as transgender women. A Gallup survey also indicated that more people in 2023 believe that changing one's gender is morally wrong. Eyes are opening.
Supreme Court decisions
The leviathan Roe v. Wade was toppled. “The power of prayer, for us, kept us going,” said Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch while describing the Dobbs case hearing … and the excitement outside in the rally with thousands of people: people were praying.” IFA intercessors and millions of people of faith have prayed since the inception of Roe all the way through the Supreme Court hearing on December 1st, 2021. The steadfastness of those who prayed and took action for years was all part of taking down the giant of national abortion. This is a monumental win.
Coach Kennedy is free to publicly pray. “A government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a personal religious observance, based on a mistaken view that it has a duty to suppress religious observances even as it allows comparable secular speech”:
The majority opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch affirmed the protection of the rights of Americans — and yes, coaches — to pray in public. The more we use our God-given rights, the stronger they are.
Religious freedom was delivered in the Supreme Court decision of the USPS letter carrier Gerald Groff. “Today ... the Supreme Court of the United States granted a victory to former postal carrier Gerald Groff against the United States Postal Service, after Groff lost his job for observing the Sunday Sabbath,” Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty, attorney for the postal carrier, shared, adding this is one of four wins for religious freedom at the Supreme Court in the past year alone. The Court’s decision restored religious freedom to every American in the workplace.
No more affirmative action for schools. The Supreme Court ruled that the race-conscious admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Affirmative action for colleges is over. Racial preferences are no longer allowed for admission to colleges and universities. The Court is aligning with the Constitution and righting some wrongs. That is a win.
States seeing wins
States are winning against a pornography giant. Pornhub, owned by MindGeek, is one of the most visited sites on the internet. New laws in Utah and Virginia requiring age verification for online porn caused PornHub to disable access to their site from these states. The genius law creates liability for PornHub if their site is accessed by those under 18. This is a huge win in the fight against porn access to kids. Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi have passed similar laws, and several others have introduced age verification bills.
A judge calls out the Biden Administration for censoring free speech. Missouri sued the Biden Administration, alleging collusion with online platforms, and censoring free speech (Missouri v. Biden). While the case proceeds, the judge enjoined the Administration from “doing what they have no legal right to do — contacting social media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on their platforms…” This could be a landmark case.
Louisiana Intercessors for America joined forces with Louisiana Family Forum and churches to seek an override to the Governor's veto of a bill that would protect kids from undergoing trans surgeries (HB648). The governor's veto was overridden, and children are protected. Louisiana is one of 21 states that have passed laws preventing some or all gender transition procedures for minors.
A Montana commission withdrew the Montana State Library from membership in the American Library Association (ALA), which is led by an avowed Marxist. Commissioner Tom Burnett requested a letter be sent to the ALA clarifying that “our oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist.” The commission boldly stood up to the ALA and detached themselves from the radical association.
Stephanie Carter, a nurse at Teague Veterans Center in Texas filed a lawsuit against the Biden VA to keep VA hospitals from becoming federal abortion clinics and force Christian doctors and nurses to perform them. She won her case. Christian men and women employed by the VA will not have to participate. People like Stephanie are boldly pushing back against ungodly legislation and action. And God is answering prayers.
While we know there still are (and always will be) many things to continue praying about in our nation, it builds our faith to recognize the wins we see happening around us. This is just a partial list of recent “wins.” I bet you can add some wins to the ledger. I challenge you to start keeping track.
Be encouraged.
The battle is not one-sided. Plenty of warriors for biblical values are taking the field and making a difference. Boldness is growing. The Church is waking up.
God is on the move — let’s look for His hand!
Dave Kubal is the President/CEO of Intercessors for America, which is celebrating 50 years of News. Prayer. Action. this year.
