Support the Advocates

Faith McDonnell
May 24, 2012 

Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA) has often said that there are “more churches than Chambers of Commerce” in the United States. By that he means that churches should be more successful and powerful advocates for persecuted church members around the world than Chambers of Commerce are for business interests. Within the pews of the churches in America there is great potential for action – if church members take seriously their responsibility as members of the same Body of Christ with brothers and sisters who are suffering. But without members of Congress who also care and are willing to act on behalf of the persecuted, not much could be accomplished in terms of government action. So it is important to pray for those in Congress who bear this burden.

Here is a Covenant to Support the Advocates in Congress for the persecuted church around the world. You may wish to share it with fellow church members or use it in your Bible study group, Sunday School class, or in a prayer meeting. The Bible instructs us to pray for our leaders.  I think it would be a great encouragement to them to know of our prayers.

The members of Congress who lead the way in this advocacy do not do it in order to win acclaim – in fact, sometimes many within their own districts are critical of their spending any time on issues that are not in their personal interest. I have witnessed this on the Facebook pages of some of my great heroes in Congress. So it does matter if you are not a constituent of the members of Congress for whom you are praying. They will appreciate it regardless! I suggest you fill in the names of the individual members for whom you are praying, as well as the date and location of your prayer and your commitment to continue praying.  After your meeting, you could email, fax, or mail a copy of the covenant to each of the members for whom you prayed. 

You will notice that we have not overlooked the other government leaders. The Covenant also refers to “government leaders, and others who have joined them, have transcended partisanship and religious affiliation to join in solidarity on behalf of the persecuted,” and also pledges “that we will challenge other representatives and senators to add their voices to this noble cause.”

It’s a good idea to pray for our elected officials, and it is critical when they are leading the advocacy for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Let’s storm the halls of Congress with prayers!