Day 30: Election Prayer Focus Arkansas

Arkansas - The Natural State

Motto: The People Rule

Capital/Largest City: Little Rock

Leaders

Governor Mike Beebe (D)

Senator Mark Pryor (D)

Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D)
1. Marion Berry (D)
2. Vic Snyder (D)
3. John Boozman (R)
4. Mike Ross (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Arkansas.

*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Arkansas.

*Declare the people of Arkansas are reached with the Gospel.

*Declare prosperity comes to Arkansas.

*Declare the leaders of Arkansas walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.

*Declare protection over the state of Arkansas.

*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Arkansas.

*Declare Christians in Arkansas vote according to the Word of God.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Arkansas.

Spaniard Hernando de Soto was among the early European explorers to visit the territory in the mid-16th century, but it was a Frenchman, Henri de Tonti, who in 1686 founded the first permanent white settlement—the Arkansas Post. In 1803 the area was acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
Part of the Territory of Missouri from 1812, the area became a separate entity in 1819 after the first large wave of settlers arrived. The next several decades were marked by the development of the cotton industry and the spread of the Southern plantation system west into Arkansas. Arkansas joined the Confederacy in 1861, but from 1863 the northern part of the state was occupied by Union troops.
Food products are the state's largest employing sector, with lumber and wood products a close second. Arkansas is also a leader in the production of cotton, rice, and soybeans. It also has the country's only active diamond mine; located near Murfreesboro, it is operated as a tourist attraction. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108184.html)

Religion
Arkansas, like most other Southern states, is part of the Bible Belt and is predominantly Protestant (78%).

Economy

Several global companies are headquartered in the northwest corner of Arkansas, including Wal-Mart (the world's largest public corporation by revenue in 2007), J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods. This area of the state has experienced an economic boom since the 1970s as a result.
In recent years, automobile parts manufacturers have opened factories in eastern Arkansas to support auto plants in other states. Additionally, the city of Conway is the site of a school bus factory.
Tourism is also very important to the Arkansas economy; the official state nickname "The Natural State" was originally created (as "Arkansas Is A Natural") for state tourism advertising in the 1970s, and is still regularly used to this day. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas)

Politics

The Democratic Party holds super-majority status in the Arkansas General Assembly. A majority of local and statewide offices are also held by Democrats. This is rare in the modern South, where a majority of statewide offices are held by Republicans. Arkansas had the distinction in 1992 of being the only state in the country to give the majority of its vote to a single candidate in the presidential election—native son Bill Clinton—while every other state's electoral votes were won by pluralities of the vote among the three candidates. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state of Arkansas by 9 points, leading some to speculate that the state was shifting toward the Republicans. In 2006, however, Democrats were elected to all statewide offices by the voters in a Democratic sweep that included the Arkansas Democratic Party regaining the governorship.

However, the Democratic Party of Arkansas is more conservative than the national entity. Two of Arkansas' three Democratic Representatives are members of the Blue Dog Coalition, which tends to be more pro-business, pro-military, and socially conservative than the center-left Democratic mainstream. The state is socially conservative – its voters passed a ban on gay marriage with 74% voting yes, the Arkansas Constitution protects right to work, and the state is one of a handful that has legislation on its books banning abortion in the event Roe vs. Wade is ever overturned. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas)

Silly Arkansas Laws

It is illegal to keep an alligator in your bathtub.

It is illegal to walk your cow after 1 PM on Sundays.

School teachers who bob their hair will not receive a raise.

The Arkansas River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little Rock. (Who goes to jail?)