Different religious groups in the United States are urging Christians to pray for Reverend Franklin Graham as he publicly engages with sensitive issues such as Islam and homosexuality.
The Gospel Herald reported that church leaders are so impressed with Graham's boldness that they are joining his cause by praying for him.
Jennifer LeClaire, director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida praised Graham for going "toe to toe with the principalities and powers that have targeted Christians for destruction."
She wrote in Charisma Magazine that the enemy of Christians would like nothing more than to silence God's mouthpiece and push "back darkness in our generation."
"Saints, let's make it a priority to lift up Graham in prayer, wage spiritual warfare against the attacks on his life and bless his ministry. And while you're at it, pray for President Obama too. Amen?" urged LeClaire.
Mike Bickle, the director of International House of Prayer in Kansas City also called on believers to support and pray for Graham because "he has boldly yet tenderly taken a biblical stance in warning America in relation to Islam, gay marriage and several other important subjects."
Graham earlier slammed Obama for refusing to call the 21 Egyptians beheaded by ISIS as Christians. He said that the president, who referred to the victims simply Egyptian citizens, has given a pass to Islam and that he refuses to see the "evil that is in front of him."
"Obama's mother was married to a Muslim. His father was a Muslim," Graham said during an "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" interview. "Then she married a man from Indonesia. He was raised in Indonesia. Went to Islamic schools. I assume she was a Muslim. So his whole life, his experiences have been surrounded by Islam. He only knows Islam."
As for homosexuality, Graham takes a strong stance against gay and lesbian marriages, calling them "sinful." He wrote in a column for Decision Magazine that "true followers" of Christ "cannot endorse same-sex marriage."
"In the end, I would rather be on the wrong side of public opinion than on the wrong side of Almighty God who established the standard of living for the world He created. Marriage is a biblically moral issue, not a political or theological one. No earthly court has jurisdiction over the infallible Word of God," he wrote.
