Emails Claiming “Prayer For Our Nation” as Billy Graham’s Words Actually Taken from Rev. Joe Wright

Over the past several months email boxes have been flooded with a message reproducing a “Prayer for Our Nation” attributed to the Rev. Billy Graham but according to snopes.com the prayer had actually been taken from a prayer penned by Rev. Joe Wright.

Rev. Wright, who is believed to have crafted his “Prayer of Repentance” from a prayer delivered by Bob Russell, addressed an opening session of the Kansas House of Representatives with his version in 1996. The prayer, posted below, angered many in attendance and gained attention worldwide for its call for repentance and a return to righteousness:

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.”

“We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.”

“Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.”

Amen.

In recent emails the prayer has been changed a bit and attributed to Rev. Billy Graham as his “Prayer for Our Nation” and said to have been read on-air by Paul Harvey during his “The Rest of the Story” radio program. The email also claims that the prayer read by Harvey attracted the largest response ever to one of his programs. Below is the text sent via email and attributed to Billy Graham.

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.  We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.  We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.  We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.  We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.  We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.  We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.   We have polluted the earth with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.  We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.  Search us, Oh  God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.  Amen!'

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