We realize that 2025 will be an important year for our state and nation. New challenges and opportunities await us. As always, IFI will be advocating for pro-family policies that uphold the sanctity of human life, parental rights, religious freedom, education choice – while at the same time – exposing and opposing the agendas that sabotage our families, corrupt our thinking and divide our communities. Please stand with us.

Pray First of All!

1 Timothy 2 tells us to pray for “all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quite life in all godliness and dignity.” I invite you to join me and the staff at IFI in committing ourselves to praying for our state and federal lawmakers. With our state and nation in financial crisis, our government officials will be making many tough decisions in the coming months. Proverbs 21:1 reminds us that the Lord is able to turn the hearts of those in authority.

Psalm 9:9-10 tells us, “The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” In ancient times, strong walls and towers were security for citizens fleeing invaders.

Today, we have reasons to be concerned about open borders, terror attacks, violent criminal activities in addition to a saturated culture filled with dangerous ideologies and sinister agendas. Our families and local government schools are being assaulted by messages of promiscuity — heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and transgender. Our culture, media, and even legislatures are driven by secularism. This humanistic system has not only affected our worldview but has invaded far too many of our churches.

Still, we take hope!

Our appeals are to Almighty God, who rules and keeps watch over nations. (Psalm 22:28, Job 12:23, Psalm 66:7) It is He who raises up leaders (Daniel 2:21) and directs their hearts (Proverbs 21:1). So, it’s imperative that we become more serious about prayer in the upcoming weeks, months, and years for our nation and those newly elected (or re-elected) government officials.

We believe that the Lord extended mercy and grace to our nation on November 5th. We know many were fervently praying and fasting leading up to the election. It’s important that we continue in that frame of mind, especially in light of the extreme reactions from many on the Left and the obvious division in our country. Because these people are not our enemy (Ephesians 6:12) and our weapons are far different than the world’s (2 Cor 10:4), it’s through fervent prayer that we hope to move the Lord’s Hand because this spiritual warfare is far from over.

For many years, IFI has witnessed a sharp decline in strong Bible believing churches – those whose members are serious about living their lives different from the culture. While we shouldn’t be shocked, because Jesus warned about many false teachers, it’s still alarming that more and more denominations ordain lesbians and gays, perform same-sex “marriages,” and even deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Some not only believe it’s acceptable to murder babies in the womb but go out of their way to “bless” abortion clinics. (This is not a new development, but has been written about in 2022 by Breakpoint, in 2021 by World Magazine, and in 2019 by Religion News Service, to name a few.)

Prayer must be our first response and our continual response in this spiritual battle against evil. In Ephesians 6:10-18, the Apostle Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God to engage in this spiritual battle. Every piece is essential: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. This is necessary if we hope to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. We must be in prayer for our state, our nation, our local communities, our churches and especially for our families.

PLEASE THANK GOD:

• ­For His patience and long-suffering, mercy and grace.

• For Jesus, whose sacrifice made a way for us to spend eternity with Him. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:9; Romans 10:9)

• For God’s willingness to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness when we truly repent.

• For giving us hope and preparing a place for us that our minds can’t imagine.

PLEASE PRAY:

• For God’s divine protection over our nation and its newly elected or appointed government officials and their families.

• For God’s divine wisdom and discernment for President-elect Donald Trump as Cabinet members are determined.

• For unity among believers – that they would have a renewed sense of purpose in sharing the Gospel with family, friends and neighbors.

• For the healing of our nation, which will come only as people repent and turn to Jesus.

• For an outpouring of love from believers toward hard-to-love people in their circle of influence.

• For believers to be bold, but with a spirit of humility and true love, in sharing the Gospel with the unsaved.

• For our Illinois lawmakers as they finish the Lame Duck Session and begin a new session on January 8th.

• For God to thwart their plans to legalize euthanasia and prostitution.

• For God to turn the hearts of Illinois lawmakers toward Him.

• For God’s conviction upon Illinois lawmakers to oppose all bills that are contrary to the will of God.

• For God’s equipping of the saints who are called to do good and produce much fruit for God’s glory. (Ephesians 2:10; John 15:8)

• For federal, state and local lawmakers to understand the need to secure our nation’s borders and end the illegal immigration crisis.

• For federal, state and local officials to stand boldly with Israel during the war against Islamic jihad.

• For President-elect Trump and federal lawmakers to be wise and discerning in foreign entanglements.

• For God to thwart and expose the plans of the enemy and the lies that seek to divide us by race and ethnicity and fuel a spirit of hate.

For IFI:

• Pray for God’s hand of protection and for health for all the members of the IFI staff and board of directors.

• Pray that God would provide the resources we need to uphold truth in the public square.

• Pray that our efforts be multiplied and amplified for His glory.