Again I Say, Pray for OUR President

A special thanks to Brian Hobbs for passing along a story from The Baptist Messenger‘s Bob Nigh.

Along with passing the proclamation to emphasize prayer for the next President of the United States, Oklahoma Southern Baptists also heard a passionate address from BGCO President Alton Fannin, pastor of FBC Ardmore. 

In his presidential address, Fannin encouraged messengers to pray for the new president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama.

He said while attending a funeral two days after the election, his 94-year-old high school English teacher leaned over to him and said, “Our vote didn’t turn out right, did it? We’re going to have to pray harder than ever.”

“My response was, ‘Maybe that’s why God let it happen,’” he said. “She was saying if John McCain had been elected, we wouldn’t have had to pray as hard.”

Quoting 1 Timothy 2:1, Fannin said Paul urged Timothy to pray for those in authority, that we may live a peaceful life.

“Paul was instructing us to pray for those in authority — in our case the president — that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives and have the freedom to spread the Gospel,” Fannin said. “At the time Paul wrote this, Nero was emperor of Rome. Nero made many horrible mistakes. He started the fire that nearly burned down the city of Rome, then accused the Christians of starting the fire and began to inflict persecution on Christians.”

Fannin, who completed his second term as BGCO president, said it is not that people are not likely to pray for Obama because they are confused about him and aren’t sure what he stands for.

“God convicted me that some people are struggling simply out of racial prejudice,” he said. “Southern Baptists didn’t get it right in 1845. We were on the wrong side of the slavery issue. We didn’t get it right in the 1950s and 1960s, when we were more Southern than Baptist. But this is about today — 2008 — the United States has a president who is African American. God give us the opportunity to learn a lesson.”

Fannin said he believes God expects Southern Baptists to get it right this time.

“What you say about our new president will say as much about you as it says about him,” Fannin said. “All my life, God has said this is an issue you can’t be wrong about because you preach God loves all people, and He died for them. It’s burning deep in my heart that we as Southern Baptists not send the wrong message to the world.

“I pray the words that come out of our mouths will be the right words, the words of Jesus, because He is the power of salvation to all men.”