Only One Prayer Request for March: HB 2827

We have had a monthly day of prayer and fasting since March 2013. Why? John 15 says, “… apart from me you can do nothing.” While some trust in chariots and others trust in horses, we will trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalms 20:7) This month’s request may be one of our most important, especially when it comes to legislation.

Most of us are already well-versed on HB2827. It is one of the most intrusive bills, if not the most intrusive bill, in ICHE’s history. Other state legislators from around the nation are watching what happens in Illinois, regarding this legislation. I know some have already committed to fasting weekly for God’s intervention on this bill, so it seems fitting that we commit our monthly day of prayer and fasting to the same thing.

Our request is simple. Pray that God hears our prayers and stops HB2827 from becoming law! Here are some requests to consider:

1. Pray these encouraging words
   1. “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ ¹⁸ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt … So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. ²¹ You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. –Deut. 7:17, 18, 20, 21
   2. I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. –Ex. 23:27
2. Pray that God will give everyone the right words to say when they talk to friends, legislators, or anyone else concerning this bill.
   1. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. –Matthew 10:19
   2. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. –Acts 6:10
3. Pray that God would change hearts and minds of those who would try to push this onerous bill upon homeschoolers.
   1. The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. –Proverbs 21:1
   2. When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. –1 Samuel 10:9
4. Pray that God will expose misinformation, lies, and inaccuracies surrounding this bill, so everyone, especially legislators, will know what is in this bill and the potential harm it can do in the future to homeschooling and private, non-public schools.
   1. though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. –Proverbs 26:26
   2. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, –Eph. 5:13
5. Pray that God would continue to bind all the private school and homeschool organizations together, that we would be unified in the message and mission, and that we would have a successful strategy and implementation of that strategy.
   1. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord. –2 Chron. 30:12
   2. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, –Romans 15:5
   3. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. –Gen. 11:6
6. Pray that God would stir up everyone’s hearts to do their part in this battle for freedom, including showing up for Cherry Pie Day or the day when the assigned committee first meets, helping financially, and especially by praying.
   1. Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. –Ezra 1:5
   2. Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. –Psalms 7:6
7. Pray that God would glorify Jesus Christ in such a way that we all would be humbled by His goodness and greatness.
   1. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! –Psalms 79:9
   2. Nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory. –Psalms 102:16