Praying for 2012: A Significant Year
A Letter for the New Year from Franklin Graham
December 28, 2011 - Will this be one of the most significant years in our nation’s history?
We need your prayers as we respond to many opportunities God has given us to proclaim the transforming power of the Gospel throughout 2012.
Dear Friend,
We are beginning a new year, and I believe we are facing what could be one of the most significant years in our nation’s history. While we prepare to choose our political leaders in the upcoming elections, our country is in a mess—morally, economically, and spiritually. People are anxious about the future, and many have lost any hope in the political process.
During election season we hear a lot about effecting change, but the only change that will help our nation is a true change of the human heart. The Bible says that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV) and there is no cure except for men and women to repent of their sin, ask God’s forgiveness, and accept His salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
I hear of people praying for revival and that our nation will turn around. We need God’s help. That is the only answer for our country and for our sin-sick world.
We need your prayers as we respond to many opportunities God has given us to proclaim the transforming power of the Gospel throughout 2012.
On the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, we will be holding a major evangelistic Crusade in the city of Sendai, located at the epicenter of the quake. Many are praying that God will bring blessing out of tragedy by opening the hearts of thousands of Japanese people who need to find “hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
From Japan I will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the anniversary of the EF5 tornado that ripped through the northwest part of the state, killing hundreds of people and obliterating entire communities. The mayor of Tuscaloosa has asked me to participate in a prayer service, and I believe it will be a powerful testimony of God’s sustaining grace in the midst of great suffering.
Meanwhile, my son Will and a BGEA team will head to Texas for a pair of three-day Crusades scheduled on consecutive weekends in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. A large number of churches are participating in preparations for these evangelistic outreaches.
Then in April, I will head to the West African nation of Ghana, where the churches have come together and asked us to bring the Gospel to their country. A number of Ghanaian church leaders were in Liberia last year at our Crusade, and they saw firsthand how the proclamation of God’s Word can transform the human heart. A few weeks after Ghana we will turn our sights to Eastern Europe, where we will hold an evangelistic Crusade in the historic city of Budapest, Hungary, and a special Rock the Baltics Festival in Riga, Latvia.
From there, we will head back across the Atlantic to the Great Lakes region of our own nation for a series of region-wide evangelistic events in cities like Rochester, Buffalo, and Green Bay. We’re calling this Rock the Lakes, and as we preach the Gospel, we’re trusting God to save thousands of souls.
To do these things, we need and count on God’s people for help. We are not able—spiritually, physically, or financially—to plan and carry out projects like this without the prayers and support of friends like you.
Throughout 2012, I’m sure you will hear plenty of promises from politicians that they either can’t keep or have no intention of keeping. But let me make this promise to you: I will use every opportunity we are given to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world in desperate need of hope. We will boldly proclaim the Savior in the face of the secularists, the atheists, and every other person, thing, or creed that opposes the Name of Jesus Christ.
I can’t think of any better investment you could make in the coming year than to partner in the work of the life-changing Gospel.
The Apostle Paul said, “One thing I do: … I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14). That’s our prayer for 2012, to single-mindedly press toward the goal of seeing as many people as possible come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. There’s nothing more valuable than a soul.
Thank you for all you do, and may God richly bless you and your family in the new year.
Sincerely,
Franklin Graham
President
CRUSADES
People look in many places for relief from their fears and hurts, but the only answer is found in the life-changing power of the Gospel. Your prayers and gifts are vital as we begin a new year of preaching the Good News in cities across America from Texas to the Great Lakes, in addition to other countries such as Japan, Ghana, Latvia, and Hungary.
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