prayerbeacon

New Wells in the Year of Ayin

2009-09-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

At sundown on September 18, 2009 we entered the New Year of 5770 on the Jewish calendar. During my times of prayer and study I have sensed there are about to be some dramatic changes in the coming year. As I continued to pray, further definition came. The purpose of this post is to share my impressions regarding this new season we are entering as the Body of Christ. I must emphasize here that we have entered not just a new season, but a new era. I will compare it to those life-changing times like graduating from school, being on your own for the first time, marriage, or the birth of your first child. Not just a change of season, but dramatic change that makes us realize we have never been this way before.

During a time of prayer I received the following impression:

It is the time of the glory of the burning bush. Like Moses there is a turning to "see" the fire. When the wonder of the fire is seen, there will be a hearing of the voice of God. God is calling forth His deliverers from the wilderness. The law has sentenced them to die, but they shall hear the voice of their Redeemer and shall declare, "My Redeemer lives!" Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Your wilderness season has come to an end. You must walk out of the wilderness and into your destiny. Can you hear the cries?

It is time to deliver the church from the taskmasters. The people of God have been in bondage too long. Release the signs and wonders that will harden the hearts to bring a greater glory. Release the message of grace that will bring shock and awe. The message of grace will release shock waves through the church and transform the culture. It is time to set the captives free.

Moses understood the protocol of kings. His past prepared him to walk out his destiny, but the wilderness formed his character to release the miracles.

The symbol for the Year 5770 is the 16th letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, AYIN. The letter AYIN has a numeric value of seventy.

The word “ayin” means – eye; to see, and by extension, to understand and obey. It also means "Divine Providence".

Ayin represents the primeval light or the spiritual light of God.
Genesis 1:3
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

I believe that as we pray during this new season, we will see an illumination. The hidden things that have been done in darkness will be brought to light.

The ayin is described as having 2 eyes – the choice of using good or evil to perceive things – optimism or pessimism. It is vital during this new season that we pray concerning the media. The perceptions of people around the world are being molded daily by the media. We must pray for new media outlets to emerge that will speak the truth. We must pray for reporters to present us with facts and not just opinions on what is happening in the world. In the past we have seen a targeted effort to alter the way events are perceived – evil or good.
Must pray for an arising of alternative media who will perceive from the “good eye”.

Ayin is a silent letter. (No translation of it in English) It sees, but does not speak; represents humility.

The name ayin can also mean “eye” or “fountain”, a fountain of wisdom and the ability to perceive wisdom.

The ayin is said to represent two eyes connecting to the optic nerve. The shape of this letter also is similar to a "spade" or a "shovel" used for digging. This brings me to the next part of what was revealed for this season. During a recent time of corporate prayer at our church a declaration was released that it is time for the "Sarah's and Elizabeth's" to give birth. Sarah and Elizabeth both conceived and gave birth in their old age. I believe during this season we will see a revitalizing of the "senior saints" to play a more active role. I am also praying for a coming together of the generations to unite the wisdom of the elders with the energy of the youth.

Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Isaac was the son of promise of Abraham and Sarah. The story of Isaac from Genesis 26 gives us great insight into the season we have just entered.

1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham.

A famine in the land - FAMINE - drastic food shortage; severe hunger and starvation.

A famine in the land of Jehovah’s word.

“Besides the first famine” - the famine touched each generation.

Natural circumstances were put in place to disclose the hunger of the heart.

And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

Abimelech was the common name for a Philistine king, like pharaoh was the common name for an Egyptian king.

2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
I was during this time of famine that the Lord appears to Isaac. He gives him an instruction - “Dwell in THIS land” and I will be with you and bless you.

Isaac could not look at the conditions in the natural. He had to choose to obey.

The Lord reminds him of the generational promise.

“I will perform the oath which I SWORE to Abraham you father."

The word SWORE is shaba (shavah) - to swear, to give one’s word, to bind oneself with an oath. The origin of this verb is the noun sheba, which means “seven”. To completely bind oneself to fulfilling an oath, or to “seven” oneself, to repeat some detail of the oath seven times or “complete”.

God is giving Isaac an irrevocable oath or promise.

It is really important that we understand the surety of this oath. In Genesis 21:29-30 during the life of Abraham, Abraham makes an oath with Abimelech with 7 ewe lambs to seal a covenant that Abraham had ownership of a well at Beersheba.

6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

Immediately after the promise - Isaac has his faith challenged. He is confronted by generational sin. His daddy’s devils came after him. When is father Abraham was in this same region of Gerar - he allowed fear to cloud his judgement. Abraham lied about his wife being his sister (a half-truth) - it was deceptive, unnecessary, and faithless.

Abraham made God small and relied upon himself. Isaac chose the same path. Isaac needed to learn about covenant.

It was after this that Isaac stepped out in faith.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.

The blessing of wealth came with persecution.

Mark 10:29"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

Genesis 26:15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.
I believe the wells represent “digging” for life, “digging” for revelation. The Philistines filled these wells with earth. Many times the wells that we have dug in prayer, or that others in previous generations have dug in prayer becomes filled with the world.

Sometimes we need to “pick up the shovel and dig another well.”

16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” 17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

Isaac “settled” in Gerar (lodging place) - a narrow place.

Sometimes God has to move us into a narrow place to realize that we need to dig.

18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. 19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.

Isaac had already dealt with his father’s fears and had come into a narrow place. He now began to search out (dig) what his father had searched out.

20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him.

Sometimes when you begin to search things out and dig a well you come to a place of “contention”. Esek means “contention”.

The “herdsmen” of the Philistines were not happy about his revelation. Some would call them “shepherds”, but they were worldly, just herdsmen. Not everyone will be happy about your revelation - there may be some contention.

21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah.

Sitnah - strife

James 3:16 - For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

Isaac was in a narrow place (a place of consecration) seeking a place without struggle or strife.

He was digging in the valley - the torrent valley (wadi - dry except during periods of rain) - the place of the palm tree (symbol of victory; flourishing and upright)

It says that Isaac’s servants dug. One of the definitions of that word servant is PROPHET.

The prophets dug in the valley and encountered/found revival!
Even though they found what they had been digging for, there was contention and strife. Isaac called it what it was!

Isaac did not camp there - he continued to move.

22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

He finally came into a wide place.

I believe that we have finally come into a wide place! We have had glimpses of revival - tastes of the glory. It is still here, even though we don’t always perceive it.

Pick up the shovel - we still have some more wells to dig!

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well. 26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.’” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Isaac found a place of peace.

32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

They continued to dig - there was a continual consecration.

Isaac proclaimed a “wide place”.

At last Jehovah has made room for us! And we will bear fruit and be fruitful in this territory!

God met with him and blessed him (fulfilled the oath).

Beersheba - the place of the sevenfold oath. The well of seven.

To establish ownership, Abraham paid 7 ewe lambs and swore and oath to Abimelech.

It is my strong conviction that the Lord has made room for us in this new season.

Many generations have dug in prayer what you have just unearthed. Take ownership! Own the revelation! Own the mantle you are called to wear!

Own the place of victory! Stop striving and continue to dig until you come to the place of true nature change!

Possess the gates of your enemies in prayer - it is part of the promise.

This is the time of the “seven”. The complete fulfillment of the oath of promise.

This is the year of completion. Cycles are being completed to bring about complete fulfillment.

You possess a more excellent covenant - shall it not be fulfilled!

It is time to unearth what is stopping up the wells.

Building Your Trust Fund

2008-11-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

In light of the recent economic news many of us have been watching the fluctuating stock market. Our leaders in Washington are holding meetings today with business leaders and economic advisers searching for the elusive answers for our stalled economy. Many "change" voters are waiting for Barack Obama to step up to the plate and hit one out of the park.

Our credit markets have stalled because there is so much "bad debt" out there that lending institutions are holding onto their money because they don't know who to trust.

So my friend, how is your trust fund doing? Where have you deposited your hope for your future? Is it in the government bailout? The stock market? Your 401k? Your career or business venture? In capitalism and the free enterprise system? Or is your trust in someone higher?

Recently I have been evaluating my own "trust fund". I realize that I cannot trust in man or the systems of man. There is only one who is worthy of my full trust and that is Jesus Christ. His Word is truth and it cannot fail. There are times, however, when there are certain challenges to this trust. Sometimes the challenges are in the areas of health, or relationships, or even finances. When these challenges hit hard against my "trust fund", I need to take immediate action to secure the trust. I have found that daily deposits of the Word of God insure my "trust fund" will remain strong. These deposits of the Word strengthen my faith and yield great dividends during challenging times. It is also important to state our trust in Him by verbally saying the promises of His word. Praise and worship are key to maintaining our relationship with our Lord and building the trust. Worship strengthens our relationship and builds trust as we come to know Him more intimately. Further, it is important to build relationships with other believers who will add to our trust fund by their testimonies. We also build our trust by giving and acts of faith. Faith pleases God. We must make our trust in Him.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

I urge you to build your trust fund today by seeking the Lord. He holds the answers you are looking for and will lead you in the way you should go.

A Tribute to Veterans

2008-11-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 12, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas, shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954. Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day)

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.

Today in America the citizens of this great nation choose to set aside our differing opinions of war and instead focus upon the valor of those who have served this nation in the military. Nearly every American family has its own military history. This history needs to be passed on to our children so future generations understand that freedom is not an entitlement, but it is bought with great price. I remember the stories my grandmother shared with me of her brothers and a sister enlisting and serving during World War II. My one great uncle served in the Pacific as an aviation navigator and returned home to his family. My great aunt was a Navy nurse caring for the wounded. My other great uncle served in the Army in Europe and gave his life in the Battle of the Bulge. I have other uncles who served in the Korean conflict, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the current war in Iraq.

As Americans we can never forget the sacrifice of those who serve. The family members of our military pay a great price. We have a responsibility to pray for our troops and their families each day. Please join me in praying that their mission is accomplished with excellence and honor and they return home safely. Pray for the cause of freedom to be expanded around the globe.

Thank a veteran today. Make an effort to let our military personnel know how much we value what they are doing. You can go to this website, http://reconnectamerica.com/giveback/, and connect with the different organizations that are committed to serving those who serve us. May God richly bless you as you reach out to our military personnel and their families.

As Americans, we must not be silent on issues concerning our national defense or the funding of our troops. We must let our newly elected President and the Congress know that we will not support any legislation that will adversely affect our military or infringe upon the freedoms that so many have given their lives to protect.

Prophecy of Victory

2008-11-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

My husband was looking at the KCM website recently and found this encouraging prophetic word which he shared with me. It is so uplifting that I wanted to pass it on to others.

“Pay Attention to Me…My system is stronger than ever.”
Don’t pay attention to or make any plans based on what the media says
or what the politicians say. Stand on My Word in John 16. Pay attention to Me.
I [the Holy Spirit] will obey verses 13-15. I will show you things to come. I will
lead you through troubled times. I already have THE plan for you, and it’s very
good. Follow it. It will not only get you through, it will place you in a very high
place—a rich place—a strong place of victory.
You will have to discipline yourself and be diligent to listen to Me. All the
other voices will have a plan, a word, an idea for your future and security.
Don’t listen to Babylon’s system. It has fallen apart. My system is stronger than
ever. My kingdom is flourishing, and THE BLESSING is the place to be.
Keep your eyes on My Word. Listen to it. It will guide you and I will
perform it. Love Me. Love My people as I have loved you. Walk in it. Love never
fails, and neither does My plan.
Be very cautious to stay completely clean from covetousness. First
Timothy 6:10 must live in the forefront of your thinking. If you will do these
things and continue therein, you will come into your wealthy place. A place
lifted up. A place in Me already planned and prepared for you now. Here. Not
heaven—not yet. But it will seem like heaven right in the midst of all the
trouble, and you’ll be able to reach out to untold numbers of suffering people
with the Good News of the gospel.
I’m coming very soon. Sooner than you think. Keep your eyes on Me and
you’ll get the job done.
—Prophecy delivered by Kenneth Copeland
Oct. 19, 2008

http://www.kcm.org/pdf/Kenneth_Copeland_Prophecy_pay_attention.pdf

Now more than ever we must turn off the voice of the world and tune into the voice of God. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and his ways are higher than our ways. Friend, let's take the high road.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Fear Not!

2008-11-06T03:33:00.000-08:00

In the past few days I have noticed a great divide in our nation that I have not heard reported upon in the news. This great divide centers around two words, fear and hope. Countless times on talk radio, television interviews, and even my personal encounters with people who come to our business I have heard statements like the following:

"I am so afraid."

"I'm scared to death about what might happen."

"I fear for our nation."

What troubles me the most when I hear these words is that they are coming from people who made a vote of conscience on moral issues and claim a belief in God.

Hundreds of times in scripture we read the words "fear not." We also know according to the Bible that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." What ever happened to the "home of the free and the brave?" Where is our courage? In whom have we placed our confidence and trust? It is even inscribed upon our currency, "In God We Trust."

In Hebrews 11:1 it reads, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. God is moved by our faith. In order for us to operate in faith as a nation, we must move away from fear and into hope. Many who voted for Barack Obama have great hope in what he will do for them when he is President. We cannot place our hope in a man, because men will always fail. It is time for us to hope in God.

The problems facing our nation in this critical hour need the remedy of heaven. Collectively as a nation we must seek God as never before. In the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself." Fear is the cancer of the soul. Once it enters, it wants to take over every thought. The spread of fear must be stopped and it begins within our own heart. It is time for us to stop speaking words of fear, doubt, and unbelief. Proclaim a fast of negative words. We must be like King David and encourage ourselves.

America has faced many challenges in our brief history, yet she has prevailed because the hand of God has been upon us. Pray for America. Believe that the foundation of our Constitution will remain strong. Fight injustice at every level and allow your voice to be heard in Washington. Stir up the embers of hope and believe that America will continue to be a beacon of hope and freedom to the world.

The People Have Chosen

2008-11-05T03:49:00.000-08:00

The people of the United States have spoken by casting their ballots. Barack Obama is now our President-elect. As I have been considering this possibility over the last few days, I am reminded of the following passage in 1 Samuel 8:

1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

The children of Israel were so dissastisfied with the possibility of Samuel's sons leading them, that they rejected the current plan of government. They so desperately wanted change and wanted to be like other nations that they even rejected God and His plan for them. God loves us so much that we created us with free will. He gave us the opportunity to choose to love Him. Loving Him includes loving His ways which are defined in scripture.

The collective cry of the people of America has been for change. Now we shall have it. This nation is about to change, to what extent remains to be seen. The church in America can no longer remain silent. We must allow our voices to be heard like never before. We the people must actively participate in every piece of legislation that is presented. We must hold our elected officials accountable for every vote. This is not a time to cower, but a time to arise! We must defend the cause of liberty with a renewed zeal.

It is time to pray for our leaders like never before. The next administration has many challenges that will require heaven's strategies. It is our responsibility to pray. It does us no good to curse the darkness. We must allow the light of the Gospel (Good News) to shine more brightly than every before.

*Pray for the protection of the United States.

*Pray that the Constitution is upheld.

*Pray for the Supreme Court to strictly adhere to the Constitution.

*Pray for our leaders to walk in humility, wisdom, and the fear of the Lord.

Election Day Prayer Focus

2008-11-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

How would Jesus vote?

Today the citizens of the United States have the opportunity to choose the leader of the free world. This awesome responsibility is afforded to us by the Constitution and paid for by the brave men and women who paid the ultimate price in the service of our nation. In the words of Bill Gates, "If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading this in English, thank a veteran."

As we cast our vote today, my prayer is that each of us will ask this question, how would Jesus vote if He were standing here? Many may call this presumptious to know the mind of God, however, if we read the scriptures and follow the principles that Jesus taught, we can vote in a way that is pleasing to Him.

We must also consider that we will be held accountable for the actions of the person we vote to put in office. We also will be held accountable for the party platform which we ratify by our vote. If we give power to a party platform that advocates abortion, we are responsible for the lives that are lost.

Please pray for America during this crucial time. It is not only the selection of our next President and Vice-President, but our Senators, Representatives, and local leaders as well. Our vote is a seed and we will reap the harvest in our government. Will we sow to the spirit or to the flesh? Will we reap righteousness or corruption? We the People will declare our future today. I pray that America remains the Shining City on the Hill so eloquently described in President Ronald Reagan's farewell address:

And that's about all I have to say tonight. Except for one thng. The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the "shining city upon a hill." The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free.
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still.
And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.
And so, good-bye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

(http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/farewell.asp)

My fellow Americans, may we do our part today and vote to keep America the beacon of freedom, the land of opportunity, and one nation under God. Today, let us once again consider the lessons of 9/11. On that day we were not Democrats or Republicans, we were Americans. We were united in a cause greater than oursevles. We turned to God because we knew that we didn't have the answers. We proudly displayed our flag as a symbol of freedom and honor and a united people. The naysayers said our financial systems would never recover, but we proved them wrong. America - wake up! Cast your vote for the cause of liberty and justice for all. God grant us the wisdom to choose wisely.

Day 50: Election Prayer Focus Alaska

2008-11-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Alaska - The Last Frontier; Land of the Midnight Sun

Motto: North to the future

Capital City: Juneau

Largest City: Anchorage

Leaders

Governor Sarah Palin (R) 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R)

Senator Ted Stevens (R)

Rep. Don Young (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Alaska.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Alaska.
*Declare the people of Alaska are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Alaska walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Alaska.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Alaska.
*Declare protection over the state of Alaska.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Alaska.
*Declare Christians in Alaska get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Alaska.

Vitus Bering, a Dane working for the Russians, and Alexei Chirikov discovered the Alaskan mainland and the Aleutian Islands in 1741. The tremendous land mass of Alaska—equal to one-fifth of the continental U.S.—was unexplored in 1867 when Secretary of State William Seward arranged for its purchase from the Russians for $7,200,000. The transfer of the territory took place on Oct. 18, 1867. Despite a price of about two cents an acre, the purchase was widely ridiculed as “Seward's Folly.” The first official census (1880) reported a total of 33,426 Alaskans, all but 430 being of aboriginal stock. The Gold Rush of 1898 resulted in a mass influx of more than 30,000 people. Since then, Alaska has contributed billions of dollars' worth of products to the U.S. economy.
In 1968, a large oil and gas reservoir near Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Coast was found. The Prudhoe Bay reservoir, with an estimated recoverable 10 billion barrels of oil and 27 trillion cubic feet of gas, is twice as large as any other oil field in North America. The Trans-Alaska pipeline was completed in 1977 at a cost of $7.7 billion. Oil flows through the 800-mile-long pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez.
Other important industries are fisheries, wood and wood products, furs, and tourism.
Denali National Park and Mendenhall Glacier in North Tongass National Forest are of interest, as is the large totem pole collection at Sitka National Historical Park. The Katmai National Park includes the “Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes,” an area of active volcanoes.
The Alaska Native population includes Eskimos, Indians, and Aleuts. About half of all Alaska Natives are Eskimos. (Eskimo is used for Alaska Natives; Inuit is used for Eskimos living in Canada.) The two main Eskimo groups, Inupiat and Yupik, are distinguished by their language and geography. The former live in the north and northwest parts of Alaska and speak Inupiaq, while the latter live in the south and southwest and speak Yupik.
About a third of Alaska Natives are American Indians. The major tribes are the Alaskan Athabaskan in the central part of the state, and the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida in the southeast.
The Aleuts, native to the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak Island, the lower Alaska and Kenai Peninsulas, and Prince William Sound, are physically and culturally related to the Eskimos. About 15% of Alaska Natives are Aleuts. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108178.html)

The International Date Line jogs west of 180° to keep the whole state, and thus the entire continental United States, within the same legal day.

Religion
Alaska has been identified, along with Pacific Northwest states Washington and Oregon, as being the least religious in the U.S. According to statistics collected by the Association of Religion Data Archives, only about 39% of Alaska residents were members of religious congregations. Evangelical Protestants had 78,070 members, Roman Catholics had 54,359, and mainline Protestants had 37,156. After Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, the largest single denominations are Mormons with 28,956, Southern Baptists with 22,959, and Orthodox with 20,000. The large Eastern Orthodox (with 49 parishes and up to 50,000 followers, population is a result of early Russian colonization and missionary work among Alaska Natives. In 1795, the First Russian Orthodox Church was established in Kodiak. Intermarriage with Alaskan Natives helped the Russian immigrants integrate into society. As a result, more and more Russian Orthodox churches gradually became established within Alaska. Alaska also has the largest Quaker population (by percentage) of any state. In 2003 there were 3,000 Jews in Alaska. Estimates for the number of Alaskan Muslims range from 2,000 to 5,000. Hindus are also represented through a number of temples and associations (such as the Sri Ganesha Mandir, Anchorage), and adherents number over one thousand. Alaskan Hindus often share venues and celebrations with members of other religious communities including Sikhs and Jains. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska)

Economy

The 2005 gross state product was $39.9 billion. Its per-capita GSP for 2006 was $43,748, 7th in the nation. The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, with more than 80% of the state's revenues derived from petroleum extraction. Alaska's main export product (excluding oil and natural gas) is seafood, primarily salmon, cod, Pollock and crab. Agriculture represents only a fraction of the Alaskan economy. Agricultural production is primarily for consumption within the state and includes nursery stock, dairy products, vegetables, and livestock. Manufacturing is limited, with most foodstuffs and general goods imported from elsewhere. Employment is primarily in government and industries such as natural resource extraction, shipping, and transportation. Military bases are a significant component of the economy in both Fairbanks and Anchorage. Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low. Its industrial outputs are crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, precious metals, zinc and other mining, seafood processing, timber and wood products. There is also a growing service and tourism sector. Tourists have contributed to the economy by supporting local lodging. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska)

Permanent Fund

The Alaska Permanent Fund is a legislatively controlled appropriation established in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from the recently constructed Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. From its initial principal of $734,000, the fund has grown to $38 billion as a result of oil royalties and capital investment programs. Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, ranging from $331.29 in 1984 to $1963.86 in 2000. Every year, the state legislature takes out 8 percent from the earnings, puts 3 percent back into the principal for inflation proofing, and the remaining 5 percent is distributed to all qualifying Alaskans. To qualify for the Alaska State Permanent Fund one must have lived in the state for a minimum of 11 months, and maintain constant residency.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska)

Cost of living
The cost of goods in Alaska has long been higher than in the contiguous 48 states. This has changed for the most part in Anchorage and to a lesser extent in Fairbanks, where the cost of living has dropped somewhat in the past five years. Federal government employees, particularly United States Postal Service (USPS) workers and active-duty military members, receive a Cost of Living Allowance usually set at 25% of base pay because, while the cost of living has gone down, it is still one of the highest in the country.
The introduction of big-box stores in Anchorage, Fairbanks (Wal-Mart in March 2004), and Juneau also did much to lower prices. However, rural Alaska suffers from extremely high prices for food and consumer goods, compared to the rest of the country due to the relatively limited transportation infrastructure. Many rural residents come into these cities and purchase food and goods in bulk from warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's Club. Some have embraced the free shipping offers of some online retailers to purchase items much more cheaply than they could in their own communities, if they are available at all. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska)

Politics

In presidential elections, the state's electoral college votes have been almost always won by a Republican nominee. No state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate fewer times. Alaska supported Democratic nominee Lyndon B. Johnson in the landslide year of 1964, although the 1960 and 1968 elections were close. President George W. Bush won the state's electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 25 percentage points with 61.1% of the vote.

In 2006 Frank Murkowski was defeated in the Republican primary by Sarah Palin, who in 2008 became the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States. Palin was the first woman to govern Alaska and the first Alaskan to receive the Vice Presidential nomination of a major party. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska)

Day 49: Election Prayer Focus Hawaii

2008-11-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hawaii - Aloha State

Motto: Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness

Capital/Largest City: Honolulu

Leaders

Governor Linda Lingle (R)

Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D)

Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D)

1. Neil Abercrombie (D)
2. Mazie Hirono (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Hawaii.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Hawaii.
*Declare the people of Hawaii are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Hawaii walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Hawaii.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Hawaii.
*Declare protection over the state of Hawaii.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Hawaii.
*Declare Christians in Hawaii get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Hawaii.

First settled by Polynesians sailing from other Pacific islands between A.D. 300 and 600, Hawaii was visited in 1778 by British captain James Cook, who called the group the Sandwich Islands.
Hawaii was a native kingdom throughout most of the 19th century, when the expansion of the sugar industry (pineapple came after 1898) meant increasing U.S. business and political involvement. In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was deposed, and a year later the Republic of Hawaii was established with Sanford B. Dole as president. Following annexation (1898), Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900.
The Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was directly responsible for U.S. entry into World War II.
Hawaii, 2,397 mi west-southwest of San Francisco, is a 1,523-mile chain of islets and eight main islands—Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, other than Midway, are administratively part of Hawaii.
The temperature is mild, and cane sugar, pineapple, and flowers and nursery products are the chief products. Hawaii also grows coffee beans, bananas, and macadamia nuts. The tourist business is Hawaii's largest source of outside income.
Hawaii's highest peak is Mauna Kea (13,796 ft). Mauna Loa (13,679 ft) is the largest volcanic mountain in the world by volume. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108204.html)

Hawaii is the only state of the United States that
*is not geographically located in North America
*is completely surrounded by water
*has a royal palace
*does not have a straight line in its state boundary

*has two official languages recognized in its constitution adopted at the 1978 constitutional convention: English and Hawaiian.

Religion
Christian/351,000 (28.9%)

Buddhist/110,000 (9%)

Jewish/10,000 (0.8%)

Other*/750,000 (61.1%)
Other includes: agnostic or atheist, unaffiliated, Bahá'í, Confucian, Daoist, Druid, Hawaiian religion, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Scientologist, Unitarian Universalist, Wiccan, Zoroastrian, etc. Hawaii has the lowest perentage of Christians of any state.

Health

Hawaii's health care system insures over 95% of residents. Under the state's plan, all businesses are required to provide employees who work more than twenty hours per week with health care. Heavy regulation of insurance companies helps keep the cost to employers down. In addition, due in part to the system's emphasis on preventive care, Hawaiians require hospital treatment less frequently than their counterparts in the rest of the United States, while total health care expenses (measured as a percentage of state GDP) are substantially lower. Given these achievements, proponents of universal health care elsewhere in the U.S. have sometimes used Hawaii as a model for proposed federal and state health care plans. Critics, however, claim that Hawaii's success is due at least in part to its mild climate and to its status as a chain of islands whose economy is heavily based on tourism: features that make it more difficult for businesses unhappy with paying the plan's premiums to relocate elsewhere.

Politics

Hawaii has supported Democrats in 10 of the 12 presidential elections in which it has participated with the exception of 1972 and 1984. In 2004, John Kerry won the state’s 4 electoral votes by a margin of 9 percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county in the state supported the Democratic candidate.

In the 2008 election, Honolulu native Barack Obama, serving as United States Senator from Illinois has received enough delegates to clinch the nomination of the Democratic Party. Obama won the Hawaiian Democratic Caucus on February 19, 2008 with 76% of the vote. Obama is the third Hawaiian-born candidate to seek the nomination of a major party and the first presidential nominee to be from Hawaii.

Economy

The history of Hawaii can be traced through a succession of dominating industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood was achieved in 1959, tourism has been the largest industry in Hawaii. Industrial exports from Hawaii include food processing and apparel. These industries play a small role in the Hawaii economy, however, due to the considerable shipping distance to the ports and population of the West Coast of the United States. Food exports include coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugarcane.

Day 48: Election Prayer Focus California

2008-11-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

California - Golden State

Motto: Eurika (I have found it!)
Capital City: Sacramento
Largest City: Los Angeles

Leaders
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
Senator Barbara Boxer (D)
Senator Diane Feinstein (D)
1. Mike Thompson (D)
2. Wally Herger (R)
3. Dan Lungren (R)
4. John T. Doolittle (R)
5. Doris Matsui (D)
6. Lynn C. Woolsey (D)
7. George Miller (D)
8. Nancy Pelosi (D) Current Speaker of the House
9. Barbara Lee (D)
10. Ellen O. Tauscher (D)
11. Jerry McNerney (D)
12. Jackie Speier (D)
13. Fortney Pete Stark (D)
14. Anna G. Eshoo (D)
15. Michael M. Honda (D)
16. Zoe Lofgren (D)
17. Sam Farr (D)
18. Dennis Cardoza (D)
19. George P. Radanovich (R)
20. Jim Costa (D)
21. Devin Nunes (R)
22. Kevin McCarthy (R)
23. Lois Capps (D)
24. Elton Gallegly (R)
25. Howard P. McKeon (R)
26. David Dreier (R)
27. Brad Sherman (D)
28. Howard L. Berman (D)
29. Adam B. Schiff (D)
30. Henry A. Waxman (D)
31. Xavier Becerra (D)
32. Hilda L. Solis (D)
33. Diane Watson (D)
34. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
35. Maxine Waters (D)
36. Jane Harman (D)
37. Laura Richardson (D)
38. Grace F. Napolitano (D)
39. Linda T. Sanchez (D)
40. Ed Royce (R)
41. Jerry Lewis (R)
42. Gary G. Miller (R)
43. Joe Baca (D)
44. Ken Calvert (R)
45. Mary Bono (R)
46. Dana Rohrabacher (R)
47. Loretta Sanchez (D)
48. John Campbell (R)
49. Darrell Issa (R)
50. Brian Bilbray (R)
51. Bob Filner (D)
52. Duncan Hunter (R)
53. Susan Davis (D)

Prayer Points

The State of California has the following initiatives on the ballot that could impact this state and potentially the rest of the nation. Please target these initiatives in prayer.

PROPOSITION 4 - WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATION OF MINOR’S PREGNANCY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Changes California Constitution to prohibit abortion for unemancipated minor until 48 hours after physician notifies minor’s parent or legal guardian.
Permits notification to certain adult relatives if doctor reports parent to law enforcement or Child Protective Services.
Provides notification exceptions for medical emergency or parental waiver.
Permits courts to waive notice based on clear and convincing evidence of minor’s maturity or best interests.
Mandates reporting requirements, including reports from physicians regarding abortions on minors.
Authorizes damages against physicians for violation.
Requires minor’s consent to abortion, with exceptions.

PROPOSITION 8 - ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
(http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm#2008General)

*Declare revival comes to the state of California.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in California.
*Declare the people of California are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of California walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of California and the state repays its enormous debt.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of California.
*Declare protection over the state of California.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in California.
*Declare Christians in California get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in California.

Although California was sighted by Spanish navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, its first Spanish mission (at San Diego) was not established until 1769. California became a U.S. territory in 1847 when Mexico surrendered it to John C. Frémont. On Jan. 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill, starting the California Gold Rush and bringing settlers to the state in large numbers. By 1964, California had surpassed New York to become the most populous state. One reason for this may be that more immigrants settle in California than any other state—more than one-third of the nation's total in 1994. Asians and Pacific Islanders led the influx.
Leading industries include agriculture, manufacturing (transportation equipment, machinery, and electronic equipment), biotechnology, aerospace-defense, and tourism. Principal natural resources include timber, petroleum, cement, and natural gas.
Death Valley, in the southeast, is 282 ft below sea level, the lowest point in the nation. Mt. Whitney (14,491 ft) is the highest point in the contiguous 48 states. Lassen Peak is one of two active U.S. volcanoes outside of Alaska and Hawaii; its last eruptions were recorded in 1917.
(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108187.html)

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) dramatically changed California with a large influx of people and an economic boom. The early 20th century was marked by Los Angeles becoming the center of the entertainment industry, in addition to the growth of a large tourism sector in the state. Along with California's prosperous agricultural industry, other industries include aerospace, petroleum, and computer and information technology. California ranks amongst the ten largest economies in the world, and were it a separate country, it would be 35th among the most populous countries.

Religion
The largest christian denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 10,079,310; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 529,575; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 471,119. Jewish congregations had 994,000 adherents.
The state has the most Roman Catholics of any state and a large Protestant population, a large American Jewish community, and an American Muslim population.
With a Jewish population estimated at more than 550,000, Los Angeles has the second-largest Jewish community in North America.
California also has the largest Muslim community population in the United States, an estimated 3.4 percent of the population, mostly residing in Southern California. According to figures, approximately 100,000 Muslims reside in San Diego.
As the twentieth century came to a close, forty percent of all Buddhists in America resided in Southern California. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area has become unique in the Buddhist world as the only place where representative organizations of every major school of Buddhism can be found in a single urban center. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Northern California and Hsi Lai Temple in Southern California are two of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere. It also has a growing Hindu population.
California has more members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Temples than any state except Utah. Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have played important roles in the settlement of California throughout the state's history. For example, a group of a few hundred Mormon converts from the Northeastern United States and Europe arrived at what would become San Francisco in the 1840s aboard the ship Brooklyn, more than doubling the population of the small town. Before being called back to Utah by Brigham Young these settlers helped build up the city of Yerba Buena. A group of Mormons also established the city of San Bernardino in Southern California in 1851. According to the LDS Church 2007 statistics, just over 750,000 Mormons reside in the state of California, attending almost 1400 congregations statewide.
However, a Pew Research Center survey revealed that California is somewhat less religious than the rest of the US: 62 percent of Californians say they are "absolutely certain" of the belief in God, while in the nation 71 percent say so. The survey also revealed 48 percent of Californians say religion is "very important", while the figure for the United States is 56 percent. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California)

Economy
As of 2007, the gross state product (GSP) is about $1.812 trillion, the largest in the United States. California is responsible for 13 percent of the United States gross domestic product (GDP). As of 2006, California's GDP is larger than all but eight countries in the world. California is facing a $16 billion budget deficit for the 2008-09 budget year.
California is also the home of several significant economic regions, such as Hollywood (entertainment), Southern California (aerospace), the California Central Valley (agriculture), the Silicon Valley and Tech Coast (computers and high tech), and wine producing regions, such as the Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and Southern California's Santa Barbara and Paso Robles areas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California)

Politics
California is known for having a progressive political culture. In 2008, it was the second state in the country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. In contrast, California had previously been the first state, via Proposition 22 in 2000, to pass a law declaring that only marriage between a man and a woman would be recognized. Yet, domestic partnerships were made available to citizens through a law created by the state legislature. Other contemporary values include California's leadership in renewable energy and climate change, as well as enacting statute to protect abortion rights.
Since 1990, California has generally elected Democratic candidates; however, the state has had little hesitance in electing Republican Governors, though many of its Republican Governors, such as Governor Schwarzenegger, tend to be considered "Moderate Republicans" and tend to be more liberal than the party itself.
Democratic strength is centered in coastal regions of Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Democrats also hold a majority in Sacramento. The Republican strength is greatest in the San Joaquin Valley, which includes the growing cities of Stockton and Modesto. Orange County remains mostly Republican.
Overall, the trend in California politics has been towards the Democratic Party and away from the Republican Party. The trend is most obvious in presidential elections. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California)

Silly Laws
In 1930, the City Council of Ontario passed an ordinance forbidding roosters to crow within the city limits.
In Los Angeles, you cannot bathe two babies in the same tub at the same time.
It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time.
In California, animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.
In Los Angeles, a man is legally entitled to beat his wife with a leather belt or strap, but the belt can't be wider than 2 inches, unless he has his wife's consent to beat her with a wider strap.
(http://www.main.com/~anns/other/humor/sillylaws.html)

Day 47: Election Prayer Focus Oregon

2008-10-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Oregon - Beaver State

Motto: She flies with her own wings

Capital City: Salem

Largest City: Portland

Leaders

Governor Ted Kulongoski (D)

Senator Gordan Smith (R)

Senator Ron Wyden (D)

1. David Wu (D)
2. Greg Walden (R)
3. Earl Blumenauer (D)
4. Peter A. DeFazio (D)
5. Darlene Hooley (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Oregon.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Oregon.
*Declare the people of Oregon are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Oregon walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Oregon.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Oregon.
*Declare protection over the state of Oregon.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Oregon.
*Declare Christians in Oregon get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Oregon.

Spanish and English sailors are believed to have sighted the Oregon coast in the 1500s and 1600s. Capt. James Cook, seeking the Northwest Passage, charted some of the coastline in 1778. In 1792, Capt. Robert Gray, in the Columbia, discovered the river named after his ship and claimed the area for the U.S.
In 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition explored the area. John Jacob Astor's fur depot, Astoria, was founded in 1811. Disputes for control of Oregon between American settlers and the Hudson Bay Company were finally resolved in the 1846 Oregon Treaty, in which Great Britain gave up claims to the region.
Oregon has a $3.3 billion lumber and wood products industry, and an $859 million paper and allied manufacturing industry. Its salmon-fishing industry is one of the world's largest.
In agriculture, the state leads in growing peppermint, cover seed crops, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, black raspberries, and hazelnuts. It is second in raising hops, red raspberries, prunes, snap beans, and onions.
With the low-cost electric power provided by dams, Oregon has developed steadily as a manufacturing state. Leading manufactured items are lumber and plywood, metalwork, machinery, aluminum, chemicals, paper, food packing, and electronic equipment. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108262.html)

Oregon's largest private employer is Intel, located in the Silicon Forest area in Portland's west side. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state.

Politics

Oregonians have voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in every election since 1988. The base of Democratic support is largely concentrated in the urban centers of the Willamette Valley. In both 2000 and 2004, the Democratic Presidential candidate won Oregon, but did so with majorities in only eight of Oregon's 36 counties. The eastern two-thirds of the state beyond the Cascade Mountains often votes Republican; in 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush carried every county east of the Cascades. However, the region's sparse population means that the more populous counties in the Willamette Valley usually carry the day in statewide elections. Oregon's politics are largely similar to those of neighboring Washington, for instance in the contrast between urban and rural issues.

Oregon has the nation's only doctor assisted suicide law, called the "Death with Dignity Law".

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon)

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 348,239; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 104,312; and the Assemblies of God with 49,357.
Of the U.S. states, Oregon has the fourth largest percentage of people identifying themselves as "non-religious", at 21 percent, after Colorado, Washington, and Vermont. However, 75-79% of Oregonians identify themselves as being Christian, and some hold deeply conservative convictions. During much of the 1990s a group of conservative Christians formed the Oregon Citizens Alliance, and unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation to prevent "gay sensitivity training" in public schools and legal benefits for homosexual couples.
Oregon also contains the largest community of Russian Old Believers to be found in the United States. Additionally, Oregon, particularly the Portland metropolitan area, has become known as a center of non-mainstream spirituality. The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, reported to be the largest such institution of its kind, is headquartered in Portland, and the popular New Age film What the Bleep Do We Know? was filmed and had its premiere in Portland. There are an estimated 6 to 10 thousand Muslims of various ethnic backgrounds in Oregon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon)

Economy

Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut growing regions, and produces 95% of the domestic hazelnuts in the United States. While the history of the wine production in Oregon can be traced to before Prohibition, it became a significant industry beginning in the 1970s. In 2005, Oregon ranked third among U.S. states with 303 wineries. Due to regional similarities in climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French regions of Alsace and Burgundy. In the northeastern region of the state, particularly around Pendleton, both irrigated and dryland wheat is grown. Oregon farmers and ranchers also produce cattle, sheep, dairy products, eggs and poultry.

Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major timber production and logging states, but forest fires (such as the Tillamook Burn), over-harvesting, and lawsuits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced.

High technology industries and services have been a major employer since the 1970s.

Oregon is also the home of large corporations in other industries. The world headquarters of Nike, Inc. are located near Beaverton. Medford is home to two of the largest mail order companies in the country: Harry and David Operations Corp. which sells gift items under several brands, and Musician's Friend, an international catalog and Internet retailer of musical instruments and related products.Medford is also home to the national headquarters of the Fortune 1000 company, Lithia Motors. Portland is home to one of the West's largest trade book publishing houses, Graphic Arts Center Publishing.

Oregon has one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon)

Loony Laws

Wait until Starbucks hears about this one! In Corvallis a woman isn't allowed to drink coffee after 6pm.

In Klamath Falls, Oregon it is still illegal to kick the heads off of rattlesnakes. This law was used when years ago, main street sidewalks were wooden. Rattlesnakes would pop their heads up through knot holes and people would kick at them, creating nasty smells from under those wooden sidewalks.

Day 46: Election Prayer Focus Washington

2008-10-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Washington - The Evergreen State

Motto: "by and by"

Capital City: Olympia

Largest City: Seattle

Leaders

Governor Christine Gregoire (D)

Senator Patty Murray (D)

Senator Maria Cantwell (D)

1. Jay Inslee (D)
2. Rick Larsen (D)
3. Brian Baird (D)
4. Doc Hastings (R)
5. Cathy McMorris (R)
6. Norman D. Dicks (D)
7. Jim McDermott (D)
8. Dave Reichert (R)
9. Adam Smith (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Washington.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Washington.
*Declare the people of Washington are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Washington walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Washington.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Washington.
*Declare protection over the state of Washington.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Washington.
*Declare Christians in Washington get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Washington.

As part of the vast Oregon Country, Washington territory was visited by Spanish, American, and British explorers—Bruno Heceta for Spain in 1775, the American Capt. Robert Gray in 1792, and Capt. George Vancouver for Britain in 1792–1794. Lewis and Clark explored the Columbia River region and coastal areas for the U.S. in 1805–1806.
Rival American and British settlers and conflicting territorial claims threatened war in the early 1840s. However, in 1846 the Oregon Treaty set the boundary at the 49th parallel and war was averted.
Washington is a leading lumber producer. Its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa and white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. The state holds first place in apples, lentils, dry edible peas, hops, pears, red raspberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries, and ranks high in apricots, asparagus, grapes, peppermint oil, and potatoes. Livestock and livestock products make important contributions to total farm revenue and the commercial fishing catch of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish makes a significant contribution to the state's economy.
Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other transportation equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals, and machinery.
Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, and water storage.
Among the major points of interest: Mt. Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks. Mount St. Helens, a peak in the Cascade Range, erupted in May 1980. Also of interest are Whitman Mission and Fort Vancouver National Historic Sites; and the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle, in Seattle. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108286.html)

The state is named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. Residents are called "Washingtonians" (emphasis on the third syllable, pronounced as tone). Washington is often called Washington state or the State of Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia (which is usually called Washington, D.C.).

Religion
The religious affiliations of Washington's population are:
Christian – 63%
Protestant – 29%
Lutheran – 6%
Baptist – 6%
Methodist – 4%
Presbyterian – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 10%
Catholic – 20%
Other Christian – 11%
Latter-day Saint – 3%
Other Religions – 5%
Refused – 6%
No religion – 25%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 716,133; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 178,000; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 127,854.
As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state.

Politics

The state has been thought of as politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with Western Washington being liberal (particularly the I-5 Corridor) and Eastern Washington being conservative. Lately however, Washington has voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in every election since 1988. Spokane, the state's second largest city located in Eastern Washington, has been leaning more liberal, with one example being Democrat Maria Cantwell winning by a wide margin in the 2006 senate race against Republican Mike McGavick. Since the population is larger in the west, the Democrats usually fare better statewide. More specifically, the Seattle metro area (especially King County) generally delivers strong Democratic margins, while the outlying areas of Western Washington were nearly tied in both 2000 and 2004.

Washington is the first and only state in the country to have elected women to all three major statewide offices (Governor Chris Gregoire and U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell) at the same time.

Day 45: Election Prayer Focus Idaho

2008-10-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Idaho - The Gem State

Motto: It is forever

Capital/Largest City: Boise

Leaders

Governor C. L. Butch Otter (R)

Senator Larry E. Craig (R)

Senator Mike Crapo (R)

1. Bill Sali (R)
2. Mike Simpson (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Idaho.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Idaho.
*Declare the people of Idaho are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Idaho walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Idaho.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Idaho.
*Declare protection over the state of Idaho.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Idaho.
*Declare Christians in Idaho get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Idaho.

The region was explored by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805–1806. It was then a part of the Oregon country, held jointly by the United States and Great Britain. Boundary disputes with Great Britain were settled by the Oregon Treaty in 1846, and the first permanent U.S. settlement in Idaho was established by the Mormons at Franklin in 1860.
After gold was discovered at Orofino Creek in 1860, prospectors swarmed into the territory, but they left little more than a number of ghost towns.
In the 1870s, growing white occupation of Indian lands led to a series of battles between U.S. forces and the Nez Percé, Bannock, and Sheepeater tribes.
Mining and lumbering have been important for years. Idaho ranks high among the states in silver, antimony, lead, cobalt, garnet, phosphate rock, vanadium, zinc, and mercury.
Agriculture is a major industry: The state produces about one fourth of the nation's potato crop, as well as wheat, apples, corn, barley, sugar beets, and hops.
The 1990s saw a remarkable growth in the high technology industries, concentrated in the metropolitan Boise area.
With the growth of winter sports, tourism now outranks other industries in revenue. Idaho's many streams and lakes provide fishing, camping, and boating sites. The nation's largest elk herds draw hunters from all over the world, and the famed Sun Valley resort attracts thousands of visitors to its swimming, golfing, and skiing facilities. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108207.html)

The Idaho landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. It is a Rocky Mountain state with abundant natural resources and scenic areas. The state has snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, vast lakes and steep canyons. The waters of Snake River rush through Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in the United States. Shoshone Falls plunges down rugged cliffs from a height greater than that of Niagara Falls. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Religion

According to the 15th annual Idaho Public Policy study by the Social Science Research Center at BSU, the ambiguous religious affiliations of Idahoans break down roughly as follows.
Protestant – 29.3%
LDS (Mormon) – 22.8%
Catholic – 14.3%
Christian – 13.6%
None – 12.7%
Other – 7.2%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 311,425; the Roman Catholic Church with 130,847; the Assemblies of God with 18,745; and the United Methodist Church with 17,683. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Economy

Idaho is an important agricultural state, producing nearly one third of the potatoes grown in the United States.
Important industries in Idaho are food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, electronics manufacturing, silver and other mining, and tourism. The world's largest factory for barrel cheese, the raw product for processed cheese is located in Gooding, Idaho. It has a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of barrel cheese and belongs to the Glanbia group. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a government lab for nuclear energy research, is also an important part of the eastern Idaho economy. Idaho also is home to three facilities of Anheuser-Busch which provide a large part of the malt for breweries located across the nation.
Today, the largest industry in Idaho is the science and technology sector. It accounts for over 25% of the State's total revenue and 70%+ of the State's exports (in dollars). Idaho's industrial economy is growing, with high-tech products leading the way. Since the late 1970s, Boise has emerged as a center for semiconductor manufacturing. Boise is the home of Micron Technology Inc., the only U.S. manufacturer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. Hewlett-Packard, has operated a large plant in Boise, in southwestern Idaho, since the 1970s, which is devoted primarily to LaserJet printers production. Dell, Inc. operates a major customer support call center in Twin Falls. AMI Semiconductor, whose worldwide headquarter locates in Pocatello, is a widely recognized innovator in state-of-the-art integrated mixed-signal semiconductor products, mixed-signal foundry services and structured digital products. Coldwater Creek, a women's clothing retailer, is headquartered in Sandpoint. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Politics
After the Civil War, many Southern Democrats moved to Idaho Territory. As a result, the early territorial legislatures were solidly Democrat-controlled. In contrast, most of the territorial governors were appointed by Republican Presidents and were Republicans themselves. This led to sometimes bitter clashes between the two parties. In the 1880s, Republicans became more prominent in local politics.
Since statehood, the Republican Party has usually been the dominant party in Idaho, as there was a polar shift in social and political stance between the two parties, when the Democrats became more liberal and the Republicans more conservative. In the 1890s and early 1900s, the Populist Party enjoyed prominence while the Democratic Party maintained a brief dominance in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Since World War II, most statewide elected officials have been Republicans. In modern times, Idaho has been a reliably Republican state in presidential politics as well. It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Day 44: Election Prayer Focus Nevada

2008-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Nevada - Sagebrush State; Silver State; Battleborn State

Motto: All for Our Country

Capital City: Carson City

Largest City: Las Vegas

Leaders

Governor Jim Gibbons (R)

Senator Harry Reid (D)

Senator John Ensign (R)

1. Shelley Berkley (D)
2. Dean Heller (R)
3. Jon C. Porter (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Nevada.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Nevada.
*Declare the people of Nevada are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Nevada walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Nevada.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Nevada.
*Declare protection over the state of Nevada.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Nevada.
*Declare Christians in Nevada get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Nevada.

Trappers and traders, including Jedediah Smith and Peter Skene Ogden, entered the Nevada area in the 1820s. In 1843–1845, John C. Frémont and Kit Carson explored the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. The U.S. obtained the region in 1848 following the Mexican War, and the first permanent settlement was a Mormon trading post near present-day Genoa.
The driest state in the nation, with an average annual rainfall of only about 7 in., much of Nevada is uninhabited, sagebrush-covered desert. The wettest part of the state receives about 40 in. of precipitation per year, while the driest spot has less than 4 in. per year.
Nevada was made famous by the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the richest known U.S. silver deposit, in 1859, and its mines have produced large quantities of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, barite, and tungsten. Oil was discovered in 1954. Gold now far exceeds all other minerals in value of production.
In 1931, the state created two industries, divorce and gambling. For many years, Reno and Las Vegas were the “divorce capitals of the nation.” More liberal divorce laws in many states have ended this distinction, but Nevada is still the gambling capital of the U.S. and a leading entertainment center. State gambling taxes account for 34.1% of general fund tax revenues. Although Nevada leads the nation in per capita gambling revenue, it ranks only tenth in total gambling revenue.
The state's leading agricultural industry is cattle and calves. Agricultural crops consist mainly of hay, alfalfa seed, barley, wheat, and potatoes.
Nevada manufactures gaming equipment; lawn and garden irrigation devices; titanium products; seismic and machinery monitoring devices; and specialty printing. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108242.html)

The state's nickname is "The Silver State" due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there. In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to enter the union, and the phrase "Battle Born" on the state flag reflects the state's entry on the Union side during the American Civil War. Its first settlement was called Mormon Station.
Nevada is the seventh-largest state in area, and geographically covers the Mojave Desert in the south to the Great Basin in the north. About 86% of the state's land is owned by the U.S federal government under various jurisdictions both civilian and military. As of 2006, there were about 2.6 million residents, with over 85% of the population residing in the metropolitan areas around Las Vegas and Reno. The state is well known for its easy marriage and divorce proceedings, legalization of gambling and, in a few counties, legalized brothels.
In 2005, the state issued a specialty license plate via the Nevada Commission on Tourism that lists the name of the state as Nevăda to help with the pronunciation problem. The local pronunciation of the state's name is not /nəˈvæ.də/ (as in the "a" in "father"), but /nəˈvɑ.də/ (as in the "a" in "glad"). Local residents - particularly natives of the state - resent hearing Nevada's name pronounced differently in the national media, a problem that has crystallized with increased coverage of the state following the 2008 Presidential Primary Elections.

Gaming and Labor
Gambling erupted once more following a recession in the early 20th century, helping to build the city of Las Vegas.
Unregulated gambling was common place in the early Nevada mining towns but outlawed in 1909 as part of a nation-wide anti-gaming crusade. Due to subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada re-legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. At the time, the leading proponents of gambling expected that it would be a short term fix until the state's economic base widened to include less cyclical industries. However, re-outlawing gambling has never been seriously considered since, and the industry has become Nevada's primary source of revenue today.
The Hoover Dam, located outside Las Vegas near Boulder City, was constructed in the years 1932–1935. Thousands of workers from across the country came to build the dam, and providing for their needs in turn required many more workers. The boom in population is likely to have fueled the re-legalization of gambling, alike present-day industry. Both Hoover Dam and later war industries such as the Basic Magnesium Plant first started the growth of the southern area of the state near Las Vegas. Over the last 75 years, Clark County has grown in relation to the Reno area, and today encompasses most of the state's population.

Nuclear Testing
The Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) Northwest of the City of Las Vegas, was founded on January 11, 1951 for the testing of nuclear weapons. The site is composed of approximately 1,350 square miles (3,500 km2) of desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton of TNT (4 terajoule) bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats on January 27, 1951. The last atmospheric test was conducted on July 17, 1962 and the underground testing of weapons continued until September 23, 1992. The location is known for the highest amount of concentrated nuclear detonated weapons in the U.S. It is also the home of Area 51.
Over 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. The primary reason for this is that homesteads were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout desert Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture without access to water (this pattern of ranching still prevails). The deficiencies in the Homestead Act as applied to Nevada were probably due to a lack of understanding of the Nevada environment, although some firebrands (so-called "Sagebrush Rebels") maintain that it was due to pressure from mining interests to keep land out of the hands of common folk.

Religion
Major religious affiliations of the people of Nevada are:
Roman Catholic – 27%
Protestant
Mainline – 11%
Evangelical – 13%
Other Protestant – 2%
Latter-day Saint/ Mormon – 11%
Muslim – 2%
Jewish – 1%
Other Religions – 1%
Unaffiliated – 20%

Politics

Registration is nearly evenly split between the two major parties. According to official statistics, 38.1% of voters are registered Republicans, 41.7% are Democrats and the remaining 20.1% are considered Independents. As a result, Nevada remains a swing state in both state and federal politics.

Nevada Laws

In 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a "barren desert" began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next:
Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Its strategy was to legalize all sorts of things that were illegal in California ... after easy divorce came easy marriage and casino gambling.
Even prostitution is legal in Nevada (under the form of licensed brothels) in most rural counties (it is however illegal in Clark County, which contains Las Vegas, in Washoe County, which contains Reno, in Carson City, and in two other counties).

Nevada's early reputation as a "divorce haven" arose from the fact that, prior to the no-fault divorce revolution in the 1970s, divorces were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. Already having legalized gambling and prostitution, Nevada continued the trend of boosting its profile by adopting one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation.

Day 43: Election Prayer Focus Utah

2008-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Utah - Beehive State

Motto: Industry

Capital/Largest City: Salt Lake City

Leaders

Governor John Huntsman, Jr. (R)

Senator Robert F. Bennett (R)

Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R)

1. Rob Bishop (R)
2. Jim Matheson (D)
3. Chris Cannon (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Utah.

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

*Declare the people of Utah are open to the truth of the Gospel.

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders to effectively evangelize the people of Utah.

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

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Utah.

*Declare protection over the state of Utah.

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

*Declare Christians in Utah get out and vote for the party platfom that lines up with the Word of God.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Utah.

*Declare an expansion of Christian media in Utah.

The region was first explored for Spain by Franciscan friars Escalante and Dominguez in 1776. In 1824 the famous American frontiersman Jim Bridger discovered the Great Salt Lake.
Fleeing religious persecution in the East and Midwest, the Mormons arrived in 1847 and began to build Salt Lake City. The U.S. acquired the Utah region in the treaty ending the Mexican War in 1848, and the first transcontinental railroad was completed with the driving of a golden spike at Promontory Summit in 1869.
Mormon difficulties with the federal government about polygamy did not end until the Mormon Church renounced the practice in 1890, six years before Utah became a state.
Rich in natural resources, Utah has long been a leading producer of copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Oil has also become a major product. Utah shares rich oil shale deposits with Colorado and Wyoming. Utah also has large deposits of low sulphur coal.
The state's top agricultural commodities include cattle and calves, dairy products, hay, greenhouse and nursery products, and hogs.
Utah's traditional industries of agriculture and mining are complemented by increased tourism and growing aerospace, biomedical, and computer-related businesses. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108279.html)

Utah is known for being one of the most religiously homogeneous states in the Union, with approximately 58 percent of its adult inhabitants claiming membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church or the LDS Church), which greatly influences Utah culture and daily life. It is also known for geological diversity ranging from snowcapped mountains to well-watered river valleys to rugged, stony deserts and open plains.
The state is a center of transportation, information technology and research, government services and mining as well as a major tourist destination for outdoor recreation. St. Georg, Utah was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000–2005 with Utah being the sixth fastest growing state overall in 2006.

Morman Settlement

Following the assassination of Joseph Smith, Jr., in Carthage, Illinois, in 1844, the more than 11,000 Latter-Day Saints remaining in Nauvoo, IL struggled in conflict with neighbors until Brigham Young, the President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, emerged as the leader of the largest portion.
Brigham Young and the first band of Mormon pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Over the next 22 years, more than 70,000 pioneers crossed the plains and settled in Utah. For the first few years, Brigham Young and the thousands of early settlers of Salt Lake City struggled to survive. The barren desert land was deemed by the Mormons as desirable as a place they could practice their religion without interference.
It is not widely known that Utah was the source of many pioneer settlements located elsewhere in the West. From the beginning, Salt Lake City was seen as only the hub of a "far-flung commonwealth" of Mormon settlements. Fed by a constant supply of church converts coming from the East and around the world, Church leaders often assigned groups of church members to establish settlements throughout the West. Beginning with settlements along Utah's Wasatch front (Salt Lake City, then Bountiful and Weber Valley, then Provo and Utah Valley), irrigation enabled the establishment of fairly large pioneer populations in an area that Jim Bridger had advised Young would be inhospitable for the cultivation of crops because of frost. Throughout the remainder of the 1800s, Mormon pioneers called by Brigham Young would leave Salt Lake City and establish hundreds of other settlements in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, California, Canada, and Mexico. At the time, Young had an expansionist's view of the territory he and the Mormon pioneers were settling, calling it Deseret - which church founder Smith had taught meant "honeybee" - hence the beehive which can still be found on the Utah flag, and the state's motto, "Industry."

Religion
A majority of the state's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormons or the LDS Church. As of 2007, the percentage of Utahns that are counted as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 60.7 percent of the state's population. The Salt Lake Tribune has projected that Latter-day Saints may no longer be a majority in the state, not just the case in Salt Lake City, as early as 2030, though the LDS Church refuted the Tribune's findings by publicly reporting its end-of-year 2007 statistics in January 2008 that 1.8 million (or 72 percent of total Utahns) are recorded on its rolls.
The LDS Church's doctrine's has historically had a strong regional influence and as historically law makers have been church members, the effect has contributed to the state's restrictiveness towards alcohol and gambling. Another doctrine effect can be seen in its high birth rate (25 percent higher than the national average; the highest for a state in the U.S.). The Mormons in Utah tend to have conservative views when it comes to most political issues and the majority of voter-age Utahns are unaffiliated voters (60%) who vote overwhelmingly Republican.
The self identified religious affiliations of adults (note that numbers below do not include children, a possible cause of the disparity with the percentage identified above, though it does include non-lds mormons) living in Utah are:
Latter day saints/Mormon 58%
Unaffiliated 16%
Catholic 10%
Evangelicals 7%
Mainline Protestants 6%
Black Protestant Churches 1%
Don't know or Refused to specify 1%
Totals are rounded. Jehovah's Witness, Orthodox, Other Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and other world religions each make up less than .5%. Other faiths total 1%.

Early suffrage
Utah granted full voting rights to women in 1870, 26 years before becoming a state. Among all U.S. states, only Wyoming granted suffrage to women earlier. However, in 1887 the Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed by Congress in an effort to curtail excessive Mormon influence in the territorial government. One of the provisions of the Act was the repeal of suffrage; full suffrage was not returned until Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896. To this day, Utah is one of the 15 states that has not ratified the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment.

Politics

Utah votes predominately Republican. Self-identified Latter-day Saints are more likely to vote for Republican ticket than non-Mormons, and Utah is one of the most Republican states in the nation. Utah is much more conservative than the United States as a whole, particularly on social issues. Compared to other Republican-dominated states in the Mountain West such as Wyoming, Utah politics have a more moralistic and less libertarian character.

Miscellaneous

Due to its high total birth rate (highest of any state in the U.S.), Utah has the youngest population of any state.

Utah ranks 47th in teenage pregnancy, last in percentage of births out of wedlock, last in number of abortions per capita, and last in percentage of teen pregnancies terminated in abortion. Statistics relating to pregnancies and abortions may be artificially low from teenagers going out of state for abortions because of parental notification requirements.

Utah has the lowest child povertyrate in the country, despite its young demographics.

According to Internal Revenue Service tax returns, Utahns rank first among all U.S. states in the proportion of income given to charity by the wealthy.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Utah has the highest rate of volunteerism.

Jell-O is the official snack food of Utah, giving rise to the term the Jell-O Belt

.
According to the National Restaurant Association, Utah has the lowest rate of restaurants per capita, with 4,691 restaurants at a rate of 1.90 restaurants per person.

According to Walmart, Utah has the fewest number of Walmart stores per capita at .081 per 100,000 people.

High School Musical 3 was filmed in Salt Lake City at East High School.

Home of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Day 42: Election Prayer Focus Arizona

2008-10-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Arizona - Grand Canyon State

Motto: God enriches

Capital/Largest City: Phoenix

Home of Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain

Leaders

Governor Janet Napolitano (D)

Senator John McCain (R)

Senator Jon Kyl (R)

1. Rick Renzi (R)
2. Trent Franks (R)
3. John Shadegg (R)
4. Ed Pastor (D)
5. Harry Mitchell (D)
6. Jeff Flake (R)
7. Raul Grijalva (D)
8. Gabrielle Giffords (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Arizona.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Arizona.
*Declare the people of Arizona are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.

*Declare the many "seekers" who come to Arizona to find spiritual enlightment have a divine encounter with Jesus Christ.
*Declare expansion to Christian media in Arizona.
*Declare the leaders of Arizona walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Arizona.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Arizona.
*Declare protection over the state of Arizona.

*Declare the extensive Arizona border is secure.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Arizona.
*Declare Christians in Arizona get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Arizona.

Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan friar, was the first European to explore Arizona. He entered the area in 1539 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. Although he was followed a year later by another gold seeker, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, most of the early settlement was for missionary purposes. In 1775 the Spanish established Fort Tucson. In 1848, after the Mexican War, most of the Arizona territory became part of the U.S., and the southern portion of the territory was added by the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.
Arizona history is rich in legends of America's Old West. It was here that the great Indian chiefs Geronimo and Cochise led their people against the frontiersmen. Tombstone, Ariz., was the site of the West's most famous shoot-out—the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Today, Arizona has one of the largest U.S. Indian populations; more than 14 tribes are represented on 20 reservations.
Manufacturing has become Arizona's most important industry. Principal products include electrical, communications, and aeronautical items. The state produces over half of the country's copper. Agriculture is also important to the state's economy. Top commodities are cattle and calves, dairy products, and cotton. In 1973 one of the world's most massive dams, the New Cornelia Tailings, was completed near Ajo.
State attractions include the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Fort Apache, and the reconstructed London Bridge at Lake Havasu City. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108181.html)

Arizona was the 48th and last of the contiguous states admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912. Arizona is noted for its desert climate, exceptionally hot summers, and mild winters, but the high country in the north features pine forests and mountain ranges with cooler weather than the lower deserts. New population figures for the year ending July 1, 2006 indicate that Arizona was at that time the fastest growing state in the United States, exceeding the growth of the previous leader, Nevada.
Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It borders New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, touches Colorado, and has a 389-mile (626 km) international border with the states of Sonora and Baja California in Mexico. In addition to the Grand Canyon, many other national forests, parks, monuments, and Indian reservations are located in the state.

The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in northern Arizona. The canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is largely contained in the Grand Canyon National Park—one of the first national parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of designating the Grand Canyon area, visiting on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the scenery.

Arizona is home to one of the largest and most well-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world. The Barringer Meteorite Crater (better known simply as "Meteor Crater") is a gigantic hole in the middle of the high plains of the Colorado Plateau, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Winslow. A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the size of small houses, rises 150 feet (46 m) above the level of the surrounding plain. The crater itself is nearly a mile wide, and 570 feet (174 m) deep.
Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, except in the Navajo Nation, located in the northeastern region of the state.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona)

Religion
According to a 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the most common self-reported religious affiliation of Arizona residents are:
Roman Catholic - 25%
Evangelical Christian - 23%
Non-Religious / Unaffiliated - 22%
Mainline Protestant - 15%
Latter-Day Saint / Mormon - 4%
Judaism - 1%
Others - 11%
L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, lived in Phoenix during Scientology's formative years. Arizona has been labeled the "Birthplace of Scientology." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona)

Politics

From statehood through the late 1940s, Arizona was primarily dominated by the Democratic party. During this time period, the Democratic candidate for the presidency carried the state each election, with the only exceptions being the elections of 1920, 1924 and 1928.
Since the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, however, the state has voted consistently Republican in national politics, with the Republican candidate carrying the state every time with the sole exception of Bill Clinton in United States presidential election, 1996. In recent years, the Republican Party has also dominated Arizona politics in general. The fast-growing Phoenix and Tucson suburbs became increasingly friendly to Republicans from the 1950s onward. During this time, many "Pinto Democrats," or conservative Democrats from rural areas, became increasingly willing to support Republicans at the state and national level. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona)

Economy

The state's per capita income is $27,232, 39th in the U.S. Arizona had a median household income of $46,693 making it 27th in the country and just shy of the US national median. Early in its history, Arizona's economy relied on the "Five C's": copper (see Copper mining in Arizona), cotton, cattle, citrus, and climate (tourism). At one point Arizona was the largest producer of cotton in the country. Copper is still extensively mined from many expansive open-pit and underground mines, accounting for two-thirds of the nation's output. The state government is Arizona's largest employer, while Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer, with 17,343 employees (2008). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona)

Day 41: Election Prayer Focus New Mexico

2008-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

New Mexico - Land of Enchantment

Motto: It grows as it goes

Capital City: Santa Fe

Largest City: Albuquerque

Leaders

Governor Bill Richardson (D)

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D)

Senator Pete V. Domenici (R)

1. Heather Wilson (R)
2. Steve Pearce (R)
3. Tom Udall (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of New Mexico.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in New Mexico.
*Declare the people of New Mexico are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of New Mexico walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of New Mexico.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of New Mexico.
*Declare protection over the state of New Mexico.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in New Mexico.
*Declare Christians in New Mexico get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in New Mexico.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, a Spanish explorer searching for gold, traveled the region that became New Mexico in 1540–1542. In 1598 the first Spanish settlement was established on the Rio Grande River by Juan de Onate; in 1610 Santa Fe was founded and made the capital of New Mexico.
The U.S. acquired most of New Mexico in 1848, as a result of the Mexican War, and the remainder in the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. Union troops captured the territory from the Confederates during the Civil War. With the surrender of Geronimo in 1886, the Apache Wars and most of the Indian conflicts in the area were ended.
Since 1945, New Mexico has been a leader in energy research and development with extensive experiments conducted at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and Sandia Laboratories in the nuclear, solar, and geothermal areas.
Minerals are the state's richest natural resource, and New Mexico is one of the U.S. leaders in output of uranium and potassium salts. Petroleum, natural gas, copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead, and molybdenum also contribute heavily to the state's income.
The principal manufacturing industries include food products, chemicals, transportation equipment, lumber, electrical machinery, and stone-clay-glass products. More than two-thirds of New Mexico's farm income comes from livestock products, especially sheep. Cotton, pecans, and sorghum are the most important field crops. Corn, peanuts, beans, onions, chilies, and lettuce are also grown. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108250.html)

Religion

According to a report compiled by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, the largest denominations in 2000 were the Catholic Church with 670,511; the Southern Baptist Convention with 132,675; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 42,261; and the United Methodist Church with 41,597 adherents. According to a 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center, the most common self-reported religious affiliation of New Mexico residents are:
Roman Catholic – 26%
Evangelical Christian denominations – 25%
Unaffiliated – 21%
Mainline Protestant – 15%
Other affiliations – 12%
No answer – 1%

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico)

Politics
In the past, New Mexico has given its electoral votes to all but two Presidential election winners since statehood. In these exceptions, New Mexicans supported Republican President Gerald Ford over Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Democratic Vice President Al Gore over Texas Governor George W. Bush in 2000.
Recently, New Mexico supported Democrats in 1992, 1996, and 2000. In 2004, George W. Bush narrowly won the state's electoral votes by a margin of 0.8 percentage points with 49.8% of the vote. Democrats hold majorities in 21 of the 33 counties of New Mexico, including Albuquerque, Las Cruces, two northwestern counties, and, by large margins, in six counties of Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora, San Miguel, and Guadalupe).
The Democratic Party generally dominates state politics, and as of 2008, 50% of voters were registered Democrats, 33% were registered Republicans, and 15% did not affiliate with either of the two major parties. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico)

Culture

With a Native American population of 134,000 in 1990, New Mexico still ranks as an important center of American Indian culture. Both the Navajo and Apache share Athabaskan origin. The Apache and some Ute live on federal reservations within the state. With 16 million acres, mostly in neighboring Arizona, the reservation of the Navajo Nation ranks as the largest in the United States. The prehistorically agricultural Pueblo Indians live in pueblos scattered throughout the state, many older than any European settlement.
More than one-third of New Mexicans claim Hispanic origin, the vast majority of whom descend from the original Spanish colonists in the northern portion of the state. Most of the considerably fewer recent Mexican immigrants reside in the southern part of the state.
There are many New Mexicans who also speak a unique dialect of Spanish. New Mexican Spanish has vocabulary often unknown to other Spanish speakers. Because of the historical isolation of New Mexico from other speakers of the Spanish language, the local dialect preserves some late medieval Castilian vocabulary considered archaic elsewhere, adopts numerous Native American words for local features, and contains much Anglicized vocabulary for American concepts and modern inventions. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico)

Day 40: Election Prayer Focus Colorado

2008-10-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Colorado - Centennial State

Motto: Nothing without Providence

Capital/Largest City: Denver

Leaders

Governor Bill Ritter (D)

Senator Wayne A. Allard (R)

Senator Ken Salazar (D)

1. Diana DeGette (D)
2. Mark Udall (D)
3. John T. Salazar (D)
4. Marilyn Musgrave (R)
5. Doug Lamborn (R)
6. Thomas G. Tancredo (R)
7. Ed Perlmutter (D)

Colorado is a key swing state in the 2008 Presidential Election.

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Colorado.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Colorado.

*Declare Christian media expands in the state of Colorado.

*Declare a larger platform for Focus on the Family and its affiliate ministries to inform the nation on policy matters regarding the family and moral issues.
*Declare the people of Colorado are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Colorado walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Colorado.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Colorado.
*Declare protection over the state of Colorado.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, Air Force Academy, and military bases in Colorado.
*Declare Christians in Colorado get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Colorado.

First visited by Spanish explorers in the 1500s, the territory was claimed for Spain by Juan de Ulibarri in 1706. The U.S. obtained eastern Colorado as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the central portion in 1845 with the admission of Texas as a state, and the western part in 1848 as a result of the Mexican War.
Colorado has the highest mean elevation of any state, with more than 1,000 Rocky Mountain peaks over 10,000 ft high and 54 towering above 14,000 ft. Pikes Peak, the most famous of these mountains, was discovered by U.S. Army lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike in 1806.
Once primarily a mining and agricultural state, Colorado's economy is now driven by the service industries, including medical providers and other business and professional services. Colorado's economy also has a strong manufacturing base. The primary manufactures are food products, printing and publishing, machinery, and electrical instruments. The state is also a communications and transportation hub for the Rocky Mountain region.
The farm industry, which is primarily concentrated in livestock, is also an important element of the state's economy. The primary crops in Colorado are corn, hay, and wheat.
Breathtaking scenery and world-class skiing make Colorado a prime tourist destination. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108189.html)

Colorado is also one of only four states in the United States to share a common border (Four Corners), along with Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. At this intersection, it is possible to stand in four states at once.

Religion
Colorado is predominately Christian, although it has a high percentage of religiously unaffiliated residents like most other Western states. Colorado, and specifically the City of Colorado Springs, serves as the headquarters of numerous Christian groups, many of them Evangelical. Focus on the Family is a major conservative Christian organization headquartered in Colorado Springs. Catholicism is popular in Colorado, and is becoming more so with the influx of Latino immigrants.
Major religious affiliations of the people of Colorado are:
Christian – 65%
Protestant – 44%
Evangelical – 23%
Mainline – 19%
Other Protestant – 2%
Roman Catholic – 19%
Latter Day Saint – 2%
Jewish – 2%
Muslim – 1%
Other Religions – 1%
Unaffiliated – 31%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 752,505; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 92,326; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 85,083. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado)

Health
Colorado also has a reputation for being a state of very active and athletic people. According to several studies, Coloradoans have the lowest rates of obesity of any state in the US. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado)

Energy
Colorado has significant energy resources. According to the Energy Information Administration, Colorado hosts seven of the Nation’s 100 largest natural gas fields and two of its 100 largest oil fields. Conventional and unconventional natural gas output from several Colorado basins typically accounts for more than 5 percent of annual U.S. natural gas production. Substantial deposits of bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coal are also found in the State. Colorado's high Rocky Mountain ridges offer wind power potential, and geologic activity in the mountain areas provides potential for geothermal power development. Major rivers flowing from the Rocky Mountains offer hydroelectric power resources. Corn grown in the flat eastern part of the State offers potential resources for ethanol production. Notably, Colorado’s oil shale deposits hold an estimated 1 trillion barrels (160 km3) of oil – nearly as much oil as the entire world’s proven oil reserves. Oil production from those deposits, however, remains speculative. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado)

Politics

Colorado is considered a swing state in both state and federal elections. Coloradans elected 17 Democrats and 12 Republicans to the governorship in the last 100 years. In presidential politics, Colorado supported Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992, and supported Republican presidential nominee Robert J. Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000, and 2004.
Colorado politics has the contrast of conservative cities such as Colorado Springs and liberal cities such as Boulder. Democrats are strongest in metropolitan Denver, the college towns of Fort Collins and Boulder, southern Colorado (including Pueblo), and a few western ski resort counties. The Republicans are strongest in the Eastern Plains, Colorado Springs, Greeley, some Denver suburbs, and the western half of State (including Grand Junction). The fastest growing parts of the state particularly Douglas, Elbert, and Weld Counties, in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, are somewhat Republican. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado)

Day 39: Election Prayer Focus Wyoming

2008-10-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Wyoming - Equality State

Motto: Equal rights

Capital/Largest City: Cheyenne

Leaders

Governor Dave Freudenthal (D)

Senator Michael B. Enzi (R)

Senator Craig Thomas (R)

Rep. Barbara Cubin (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Wyoming.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Wyoming.
*Declare the people of Wyoming are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Wyoming walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Wyoming.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Wyoming.
*Declare protection over the state of Wyoming.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Wyoming.
*Declare Christians in Wyoming get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Wyoming.

The U.S. acquired the land comprising Wyoming from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. John Colter, a fur-trapper, is the first white man known to have entered the region. In 1807 he explored the Yellowstone area and brought back news of its geysers and hot springs.
Robert Stuart pioneered the Oregon Trail across Wyoming in 1812–1813 and, in 1834, Fort Laramie, the first permanent trading post in Wyoming, was built. Western Wyoming was obtained by the U.S. in the 1846 Oregon Treaty with Great Britain and as a result of the treaty ending the Mexican War in 1848.
When the Wyoming Territory was organized in 1869, Wyoming women became the first in the nation to obtain the right to vote. In 1925 Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman governor in the United States.
Wyoming's towering mountains and vast plains provide spectacular scenery, grazing lands for sheep and cattle, and rich mineral deposits.
Mining, particularly oil and natural gas, is the most important industry. Wyoming has the world's largest sodium carbonate (natrona) deposits and has the nation's second largest uranium deposits.
In 2004 Wyoming ranked second among the states in wool production (exceeded only by Texas) and third in sheep and lambs (exceeded only by Texas and California); it also had 1,400,000 cattle. Principal crops include wheat, oats, sugar beets, corn, barley, and alfalfa.
Second in mean elevation to Colorado, Wyoming has many attractions for the tourist trade, notably Yellowstone National Park. Hikers, campers and skiers are attracted to Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole National Monument in the Teton Range of the Rockies. Cheyenne is famous for its annual “Frontier Days” celebration. Flaming Gorge, the Fort Laramie National Historic Site, and Devils Tower and Fossil Butte National Monuments are other points of interest. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108293.html)

While the tenth largest U.S. state by size, Wyoming is the least populous (including the District of Columbia), with a U.S. Census estimated population of 522,830 in 2007. It has the second lowest population density, following Alaska.

Public lands
Over 48% of the land in Wyoming is owned by the U.S. Government, which ranks fifth in the US in both total acres owned by the Federal Government and by percentage of a state's land owned by the Federal government. This amounts to about 30,099,430 acres (121,808.1 km2) owned and managed by the U.S. Government. The state government owns an additional 6% of all Wyoming lands, or another 3,864,800 acres (15,640 km2).
The vast majority of this government land is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service in numerous National Forests, a National Grassland, and a number of vast swaths of public land.
In addition, Wyoming contains a number of specific areas that are under the management of the National Park Service and other agencies. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming)

Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Wyoming are shown in the table below:
Christian – 78%
Protestant – 53%
Lutheran – 8%
Baptist – 8%
Methodist – 6%
Presbyterian – 4%
Episcopal – 4%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 21%
Roman Catholic – 16%
LDS (Mormon) – 11%
Other Religions – 1%
Jewish – 0.1%
Non-Religious – 20.9%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 80,421; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 47,129; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 17,101. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming)

Economy

According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Wyoming’s gross state product was $27.4 billion. Wyoming’s unemployment rate for 2006 was approximately 3.3%, which was lower than the national average of 4.6%. Components of Wyoming's economy differ significantly from those of other states. The mineral extraction industry and the travel and tourism sector are the main drivers behind Wyoming’s economy. The Federal government owns about 50% of its landmass, while 6% is controlled by the state. Total taxable values of mining production in Wyoming for 2001 was over $6.7 billion. The tourism industry accounts for over $2 billion in revenue for the state.
In 2002, over six million people visited Wyoming’s national parks and monuments. The key tourist attractions in Wyoming include Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Devils Tower National Monument and Fossil Butte National Monument. Each year Yellowstone National Park receives three million visitors.
Historically, agriculture has been an important component of Wyoming’s economic identity. Its overall importance to the performance of Wyoming’s economy has waned. However, it is still an essential part of Wyoming’s culture and lifestyle. The main agricultural commodities produced in Wyoming include livestock (beef), hay, sugar beets, grain (wheat and barley), and wool. Over 91% of land in Wyoming is classified as rural.

Wyoming’s mineral commodities include coal, natural gas, coalbed methane, crude oil, uranium, and trona. Wyoming ranks highest in mining employment in the U.S. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming)

Politics
Wyoming is predominantly conservative and politically Republican. The state has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964, and there are only two reliably Democratic counties. Wyoming has the lowest unemployment rate, extremely low tax rates (no income or inheritance taxes), and has the single most "business friendly" tax climate of all 50 states.

Wyoming was chosen as the official state for the Free State Wyoming project; a splinter of the Free State Project. The purpose of the project is to relocate Libertarians to a single state, making it possible to live a free life. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming)

Day 38: Election Prayer Focus Montana

2008-10-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Montana - The Treasure State

Motto: Gold and silver

Capital City: Helena

Largest City: Billings

Leaders

Governor Brian Schweitzer (D)

Senator Max Baucus (D)

Senator Jon Tester (D)

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Montana.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Montana.
*Declare the people of Montana are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Montana walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Montana.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Montana.
*Declare protection over the state of Montana.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Montana.
*Declare Christians in Montana get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Montana.

First explored for France by François and Louis-Joseph Verendrye in the early 1740s, much of the region was acquired by the U.S. from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Before western Montana was obtained from Great Britain in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, American trading posts and forts had been established in the territory.
The major Indian Wars (1867–1877) included the famous 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn, better known as “Custer's Last Stand,” in which Cheyenne and Sioux defeated George A. Custer and more than 200 of his men in southeast Montana.
Much of Montana's early history was concerned with mining, with copper, lead, zinc, silver, coal, and oil as principal products. Butte is the center of the area that once supplied half of the U.S. copper.
Fields of grain cover much of Montana's plains. It ranks high among the states in wheat and barley, with rye, oats, flaxseed, sugar beets, and potatoes as other important crops. Sheep and cattle raising make significant contributions to the economy. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108237.html)

The state nickname is the "Treasure State." Other nicknames include "Land of Shining Mountains," "Big Sky Country," and the slogan "The Last Best Place." The state ranks fourth in area, but 44th in population, and therefore has the third lowest population density in the United States. The economy is primarily based on ranching and wheat farming in the east, lumber and tourism in the west, oil and coal in the east, and hard rock mining in the west. Millions of tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, the Battle of Little Bighorn site, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

The coldest temperature on record for Montana is the coldest temperature for the entire continental U.S. On January 20, 1954 -70 °F was recorded at a gold mining camp near Rogers Pass. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana)

Religion

Approximately 82% of the population is Christian. The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 169,250; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 50,287; and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 32,726. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana)

Politics

The state was the first to elect a female member of Congress (Jeannette Rankin) and was one of the first states to give women voting rights.

Historically, Montana is a Swing state of cross-ticket voters with a tradition of sending "conservatives to Helena (the state capital) and liberals to Washington." However, there have also been long-term shifts of party control. During the 1970s, the state was dominated by the Democratic Party, with Democratic governors for a 20-year period, and a Democratic majority of both the national congressional delegation and during many sessions of the state legislature. This pattern shifted, beginning with the 1988 election, when Montana elected a Republican governor and sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate for the first time since the 1940s. This shift continued with the reapportionment of the state's legislative districts that took effect in 1994, when the Republican Party took control of both houses of the state legislature, consolidating a party dominance that lasted until 2004. The state last supported a Democrat for president in 1992, when Bill Clinton won a plurality victory.
In recent years, Montana has been classified as a Republican-leaning state, and the state supported President George W. Bush by a wide margin in 2000 and 2004. However, since the 2000 reapportionment plan went into effect in 2004 the state currently has a Democratic governor (Brian Schweitzer), elected in 2004. In the 2006 midterm elections, Democratic candidate Jon Tester narrowly defeated (by only 3000 votes) incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns, one of several crucial races that allowed the Democratic Party to win the majority in the U.S. Senate. Montana's lone US Representative, Republican Denny Rehberg, easily won reelection. The state Senate is (as of 2007) controlled by the Democrats and the State House of Representatives is controlled by the Republicans. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana)

Interesting Facts

Montana's triple divide allows water to flow into three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Mexico), and the Arctic Ocean (Hudson Bay). This phenomenon occurs at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park.

In 1888, Helena (the current state capital) had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana)

Day 37: Election Prayer Focus North Dakota

2008-10-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

North Dakota - Sioux State

Motto: Liberty and union, now and forever: one and inseparable

Capital City: Bismarck

Largest City: Fargo

Leaders

Governor John Hoeven (R)

Senator Kent Conrad (D)

Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D)

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of North Dakota.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in North Dakota.
*Declare the people of North Dakota are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of North Dakota walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of North Dakota.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of North Dakota.
*Declare protection over the state of North Dakota.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in North Dakota.
*Declare Christians in North Dakota get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in North Dakota.

North Dakota is the most rural of all the states, with farms covering more than 90% of the land. North Dakota ranks first in the nation's production of spring and durum wheat; other agricultural products include barley, rye, sunflowers, dry edible beans, honey, oats, flaxseed, sugar beets, hay, beef cattle, sheep, and hogs.
Recently, manufacturing industries have grown, especially food processing and farm equipment. The state's coal and oil reserves are plentiful, and it also produces natural gas, lignite, clay, sand, and gravel. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108256.html)

Religion
North Dakota has the lowest percentage of non-religious people of any state, and it also has the most churches per capita of any state.
A 2001 survey indicated that 35% of North Dakota's population was Lutheran, and 30% was Roman Catholic. Other religious groups represented were Methodists (7%), Baptists (6%), the Assembly of God (3%), and Jehovah's Witness (1%). Christians with unstated or other denominational affiliations, including other Protestants, totaled 3%, bringing the total Christian population to 86%. Non-Christian religions, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, together represented 4% of the population. Three percent of respondents answered "no religion" on the survey, and 6% refused to answer.
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 179,349; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 174,554; and the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod with 23,720.

Culture

North Dakota cuisine includes Knoephla soup: a thick, stew-like chicken soup with dumplings, lutefisk: lye-treated fish, Kuchen: a pie-like pastry, lefse: a flat bread made from mashed potatoes that is eaten with butter and sugar, Fleischkuekle, a deep fried entree of ground beef covered in dough, and served with chips and a pickle in most restaurants; strudel: a dough-and-filling item that can either be made as a pastry, or a savory dish with onions or meat; and other traditional German and Norwegian dishes. North Dakota also shares concepts such as hot dishes along with other Midwestern states.
Along with having the most churches per capita of any state, North Dakota has the highest percentage of church-going population of any state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota)

Economy

Agriculture is the largest industry in North Dakota, although petroleum and food processing are also major industries. North Dakota is also the only state with a state owned bank, the Bank of North Dakota in Bismarck, and a state owned flour mill, the North Dakota Mill and Elevator in Grand Forks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota)

Energy
Coal mines generate 93% of the North Dakota electricity. Oil was discovered near Tioga, North Dakota in 1951, generating 53 million barrels (8,400,000 m3) of oil a year by 1984. Western North Dakota is currently in an oil boom, the Tioga, Stanley and Minot-Burlington communities are experiencing rapid growth. The oil reserves may hold up to 400 billion barrels (6.4×1010 m3) of oil, 25 times larger than the reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, a report issued in April 2008 by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the oil recoverable by current technology in the Bakken formation is two orders of magnitude less, in the range of 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels, with a mean of 3.65 billion.
Long called the "Saudi Arabia" of wind energy, North Dakota has the capability of producing 1.2 billion kilowatt hours of energy. That is enough to power 25% of the entire country's energy needs. Wind energy in North Dakota is also very cost effective because the state has large rural expanses and wind speeds seldom go below 10 mph. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota)

Politics

The Republican Party presidential candidate usually carries the state; in 2004, George W. Bush won with 62.9% of the vote. Of all the Democratic presidential candidates since 1892, only Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson received Electoral College votes from North Dakota.
On the other hand, Dem-NPL candidates for North Dakota's federal Senate and Congressional seats have won every election since 1982, and the state's federal delegation has been entirely Democratic since 1986. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota)

Day 36: Election Prayer Focus South Dakota

2008-10-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

South Dakota - Mt. Rushmore State

Motto: Under God the people rule

Capital City: Pierre

Largest City: Sioux Falls

Leaders

Governor Mike Rounds (R)

Senator John R. Thune (R)

Senator Tim Johnson (D)

Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of South Dakota.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in South Dakota.
*Declare the people of South Dakota are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of South Dakota walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of South Dakota.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of South Dakota.
*Declare protection over the state of South Dakota.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in South Dakota.
*Declare Christians in South Dakota get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in South Dakota.

The U.S. acquired the region as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and it was explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804–1806. Fort Pierre, the first permanent settlement, was established in 1817.
Settlement of South Dakota did not begin in earnest until the arrival of the railroad in 1873 and the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874.
Agriculture is a cultural and economic mainstay, but it no longer leads the state in employment or share of gross state product. Durable-goods manufacturing and private services have evolved as the drivers of the economy. Tourism is also a booming industry in the state, generating over a billion dollars' worth of economic activity each year.
South Dakota is the second-largest producer of flaxseed and sunflower seed in the nation. It is the third-largest producer of hay and rye.
The Black Hills are the highest mountains east of the Rockies. Mt. Rushmore, in this group, is famous for the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, which were carved in granite by Gutzon Borglum. A memorial to Crazy Horse is also being carved in granite near Custer.
Other tourist attractions include the Badlands; the World's Only Corn Palace, in Mitchell; and the city of Deadwood, where Wild Bill Hickok was killed in 1876 and where gambling was recently legalized. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108270.html)

Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in an effort to attract and retain residents. The state is still largely rural, though, with one of the lowest population densities in the United States. While several notable Democratic senators have represented South Dakota at the federal level, the state's government is largely dominated by the Republican Party, and Republicans have carried South Dakota in the last ten presidential elections. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota)

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 181,434 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with 121,871 members; and the United Methodist Church (UMC) with 37,280 members. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota)

Education
As of 2006, South Dakota has a total primary and secondary school enrollment of 136,872, with 120,278 of these students being educated in the public school system. There are 703 public schools in 168 school districts, giving South Dakota the highest number of schools per capita in the United States. The current high school graduation rate is 89.9%, and the average ACT score is 21.8, slightly above the national average of 21.1. 84.6% of the adult population has earned at least a high school diploma, and 21.5% has earned a bachelor's degree or higher. South Dakota's average public school teacher salary of $34,040, compared to a national average of $47,674, is the lowest in the nation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota)

Interesting Facts

South Dakota is home to the largest naturally heated indoor swimming pool in the world. Evans Plunge, heated from natural mineral springs, is in Hot Springs.
The Black Hills of South Dakota was one of the sites considered for the permanent home of the United Nations.
South Dakota has the largest U.S. population of Hutterites, who originally emigrated from Ukraine in 1874, left en masse for Canada in 1918 following persecution over their pacifist religious beliefs, and partially returned in the 1930s.
The largest and most complete fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex ever found was uncovered near Faith in 1990. Named "Sue" the remains are over 90% complete and are currently on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
The 1990 movie Dances with Wolves directed by and starring Kevin Costner as Lieutenant John Dunbar was filmed almost entirely in South Dakota.
Pierre is the second-smallest (in terms of population) state capital; only Montpelier, Vermont, has fewer people. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota)

Day 35: Election Prayer Focus Nebraska

2008-10-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Nebraska - Cornhusker State

Motto: Equality before the law

Capital City: Lincoln

Largest City: Omaha

Leaders

Governor David Heineman (R)

Senator Charles Hagel (R)

Senator Ben Nelson (D)

1. Jeff Fortenberry (R)
2. Lee Terry (R)
3. Adrian Smith (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Nebraska.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Nebraska.
*Declare the people of Nebraska are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Nebraska walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Nebraska.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Nebraska.
*Declare protection over the state of Nebraska.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Nebraska.
*Declare Christians in Nebraska get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Nebraska.

French fur traders first visited Nebraska in the late 1600s. Part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, eastern Nebraska was explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804–1806. A few years later, Robert Stuart pioneered the Oregon Trail across Nebraska in 1812–1813, and the first permanent white settlement was established at Bellevue in 1823.
Western Nebraska was acquired by treaty following the Mexican War in 1848. The Union Pacific began its transcontinental railroad at Omaha in 1865. In 1937, Nebraska became the only state in the Union to have a unicameral (one-house) legislature. Members are elected to it without party designation.
Nebraska is a leading grain-producer with bumper crops of sorghum, corn, and wheat. More varieties of grass, valuable for forage, grow in this state than in any other in the nation. The state's sizable cattle and hog industries make Dakota City and Lexington among the nation's largest meat-packing centers.
Manufacturing has become diversified: Firms making electronic components, auto accessories, pharmaceuticals, and mobile homes have joined such older industries as clothing, farm machinery, chemicals, and transportation equipment. Oil was discovered in 1939 and natural gas in 1949. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108240.html)

Rural flight
Eighty-nine percent of the cities in Nebraska have fewer than 3,000 people. Nebraska shares this characteristic with five other Midwest states (Kansas, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and Iowa). Hundreds of towns have a population of fewer than 1,000. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska)

Religion

The largest single denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Catholic Church 372,791, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 128,570, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod 117,419 and the United Methodist Church 117,277. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska)

Politics

For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly Republican state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since 1940—the 1964 landslide election of Lyndon B. Johnson. In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won the state's five electoral votes by a 33% margin (the fourth-most Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only Thurston County, which includes two American Indian reservations, voted for John Kerry. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska)

Day 34: Election Prayer Focus Kansas

2008-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Kansas - Sunflower State; Jayhawk State

Motto: To the stars through difficulties

Capital City: Topeka

Largest City: Wichita

Leaders

Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D)

Senator Sam Brownback (R)

Senator Pat Roberts (R)

1. Jerry Moran (R)
2. Nancy Boyda (D)
3. Dennis Moore (D)
4. Todd Tiahrt (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Kansas.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Kansas.
*Declare the people of Kansas are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Kansas walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Kansas.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Kansas.
*Declare protection over the state of Kansas, especially from tornadoes.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Kansas.
*Declare Christians in Kansas get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Kansas.

Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, and Stephen H. Long explored the region between 1803 and 1819. The first permanent white settlements in Kansas were outposts—Fort Leavenworth (1827), Fort Scott (1842), and Fort Riley (1853)—established to protect travelers along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails.
Just before the Civil War, the conflict between the pro- and anti-slavery forces earned the region the grim title of Bleeding Kansas.
Today, wheat fields, oil-well derricks, herds of cattle, and grain-storage elevators are chief features of the Kansas landscape. A leading wheat-growing state, Kansas also raises corn, sorghum, oats, barley, soybeans, and potatoes. Kansas stands high in petroleum production and mines zinc, coal, salt, and lead. It is also the nation's leading producer of helium.
Wichita is one of the nation's leading aircraft-manufacturing centers, ranking first in production of private aircraft. Kansas City is an important transportation, milling, and meat-packing center.

(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108215.html)

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 405,844; the United Methodist Church with 206,187; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 101,696. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas)

Politics

Historically, Kansas has been strongly Republican. In fact, the only non-Republicans Kansas has given its electoral vote to are Populist James Weaver and Democrats Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's 6 electoral votes by an overwhelming margin of 25 percentage points with 62% of the vote. The only two counties to support Democrat John Kerry in that election were Wyandotte, which contains Kansas City, and Douglas, home to the University of Kansas, located at Lawrence. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas)

Rural flight
Kansas is one of the slowest-growing states in the nation. Known as a rural exodus, the last few decades have been marked by a migratory pattern out of the countryside into cities.
Out of all the cities in these Midwestern states, 89% have fewer than 3000 people, and hundreds of those have fewer than 1000. In Kansas alone, there are more than 6,000 ghost towns, according to one Kansas historian.
At the same time, some of the communities in Johnson County (metropolitan Kansas City) are among the fastest growing in the country. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas)

Day 33: Election Prayer Focus Oklahoma

2008-10-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma - The Sooner State

Motto: Labor conquers all things

Capital/Largest City: Oklahoma City

Leaders

Governor Brad Henry (D)

Senator Tom Coburn (R)

Senator James Inhofe (R)

1. John Sullivan (R)
2. Dan Boren (D)
3. Frank D. Lucas (R)
4. Tom Cole (R)
5. Mary Fallin (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Oklahoma.
*Declare the people of Oklahoma are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Oklahoma walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Oklahoma.
*Declare protection over the state of Oklahoma.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Oklahoma.
*Declare Christians in Oklahoma get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Oklahoma.

Set aside as Indian Territory in 1834, the region was divided into Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory on May 2, 1890. The two were combined to make a new state, Oklahoma, on Nov. 16, 1907.
On April 22, 1889, the first day homesteading was permitted, 50,000 people swarmed into the area. Those who tried to beat the noon starting gun were called “Sooners,” hence the state's nickname.
Oil made Oklahoma a rich state, but natural-gas production has now surpassed it. Oil refining, meat packing, food processing, and machinery manufacturing (especially construction and oil equipment) are important industries. Minerals produced in Oklahoma include helium, gypsum, zinc, cement, coal, copper, and silver.
Oklahoma's rich plains produce bumper yields of wheat, as well as large crops of sorghum, hay, cotton, and peanuts. More than half of Oklahoma's annual farm receipts are contributed by livestock products, including cattle, dairy products, swine, and broilers. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108260.html)

Major land runs, including the Land Run of 1889, were held for settlers on the hour that certain territories were opened to settlement. Usually, land was allocated to settlers on a first come, first served basis. Those who broke the rules by crossing the border into the territory before it was allowed were said to have been crossing the border sooner, leading to the term sooners, which eventually became the state's official nickname.
Delegations to make the territory into a state began near the turn of the 20th century, when the Curius Act abolished all tribal jurisdiction in Indian Territory. Attempts to create an all-Indian state named Oklahoma, and a later attempt to create an all-Indian state named Sequoyah failed, but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention, which took place two years later. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma was established as the 46th state in the Union.

The new state became a focal point for the emerging oil industry, as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth. Tulsa eventually became known as the "Oil Capital of the World" for most of the 20th century, and oil investments fueled much of the state's early economy. In 1927, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the "Father of Route 66", began a campaign to create U.S. Route 66. Using an existing stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66, Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66, based in his hometown of Tulsa.
In the early 20th century, despite Jim Crow Laws and a statewide presence of the Ku Klux Klan, Tulsa was home to one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States, but was the site of the Tulsa Race Riot in 1921. One of the costliest acts of racial violence in American history, sixteen hours of rioting resulted in 35 city blocks destroyed, $1.8 million in property damage, and a death toll estimated to be as high as 300 people. By the late 1920s, the Ku Klux Clan was reduced to negligible influence within the state.
During the 1930s, parts of the state began feeling the consequences of poor farming practices, drought, and high winds. Known as the Dust Bowl, areas of Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall and abnormally high temperatures, sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of the western United States. Over a twenty-year period ending in 1950, the state saw its only historical decline in population, dropping 6.9 percent. In response, dramatic efforts in soil and water conservation led to massive flood control systems and dams, creating hundreds of reservoirs and man-made lakes. By the 1960s, more than 200 man-made lakes had been created, the most in the nation.
In 1995, Oklahoma City became the scene of one of the worst acts of terrorism ever committed in American history. The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols detonated an explosive outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killed 168 people, including 19 children. Timothy McVeigh was later sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection, while his partner, Terry Nichols, was convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder and received life in prison without the possibility of parole. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)

Politics

Oklahoma has a voter demographic weighted towards the Democratic Party as of 2007. Though there are 11.6 percent more registered Democrats in Oklahoma than registered Republicans, the state has voted for a Republican in every presidential election from 1968 forward, and in 2004, George W. Bush carried every county in the state and 65.6 percent of the statewide vote. Three third parties have substantial influence in state politics: Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Green Party of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Constitution Party. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)

Religion
Oklahoma is part of a geographical region characterized by widespread beliefs in Biblical Christianity and Evangelical Protestantism known as the "Bible Belt". Spanning the Southeastern United States, the area is known for politically and socially conservative views. Tulsa, the state's second largest city, home to Oral Roberts University, is considered an apex of the region and is known as one of the "buckles of the Bible Belt". According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of Oklahoma's religious adherents — 85 percent — are Christian, accounting for about 80 percent of the population. The percentage of Oklahomans affiliated with Catholicism is half of the national average, while the percentage affiliated with Evangelical Protestantism is more than twice the national average — tied with Arkansas for the largest percentage of any state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)

Day 32: Election Prayer Focus Texas

2008-10-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Texas - The Lone Star State

Motto: Friendship

Capital City: Austin

Largest City: Houston (4th Largest U.S. City)

Leaders

Governor Rick Perry (R)

Senator John Cornyn (R)

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)

1. Louie Gohmert (R)
2. Ted Poe (R)
3. Sam Johnson (R)
4. Ralph M. Hall (R)
5. Jeb Hensarling (R)
6. Joe Barton (R)
7. John A. Culberson (R)
8. Kevin P. Brady (R)
9. Al Green (D)
10. Michael McCaul (R)
11. Mike Conaway (R)
12. Kay Granger (R)
13. William “Mac” Thornberry (R)
14. Ron E. Paul (R)
15. Rubén E. Hinojosa (D)
16. Silvestre Reyes (D)
17. Chet Edwards (D)
18. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D)
19. Randy Neugebauer (R)
20. Charles A. Gonzalez (D)
21. Lamar S. Smith (R)
22. Nick Lampson (D)
23. Henry Bonilla (R)
24. Kenny Marchant (R)
25. Lloyd Doggett (D)
26. Michael C. Burgess (R)
27. Solomon P. Ortiz (D)
28. Henry Cuellar (D)
29. Gene Green (D)
30. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D)
31. John R. Carter (R)
32. Pete Sessions (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Texas.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Texas.
*Declare the people of Texas are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Texas walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Texas.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Texas.
*Declare protection over the state of Texas.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Texas.
*Declare full restoration to those who lost so much in the recent hurricanes.
*Declare Christians in Texas get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Texas.

Americans, led by Stephen F. Austin, began to settle along the Brazos River in 1821 when Texas was controlled by Mexico, recently independent from Spain. In 1836, following a brief war between the American settlers in Texas and the Mexican government, the Independent Republic of Texas was proclaimed with Sam Houston as president. This war was famous for the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto. After Texas became a state in 1845, border disputes led to the Mexican War of 1846–1848.
Possessing enormous natural resources, Texas is a major agricultural state and an industrial giant. Second only to Alaska in land area, it leads all other states in such categories as oil, cattle, sheep, and cotton. Texas ranches and farms also produce poultry and eggs, dairy products, greenhouse and nursery products, wheat, hay, rice, sugar cane, and peanuts, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Sulfur, salt, helium, asphalt, graphite, bromine, natural gas, cement, and clays are among the state's valuable resources. Chemicals, oil refining, food processing, machinery, and transportation equipment are among the major Texas manufacturing industries. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108277.html)

Religion
Texas is a part of the socially conservative Evangelical Protestant Bible Belt, and has the highest percentage of people with a religious affiliation in the United States. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas is home to three major evangelical seminaries and several megachurches, including Fellowship Church, Potter's House and Prestonwood Baptist Church. Houston is home to the largest "church" in the nation, Lakewood Church. Lubbock, Texas has the most churches per capita in the nation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas)

Politics

Like in other "Solid South" states, whites resented the Republican Party after the American Civil War. After regaining power near the end of Reconstruction, the Democratic Party held a monolithic political presence in Texas until the late 20th century. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he reportedly said "We have lost the South for a generation". Scholars attribute the change to the success of Nixon's Southern Strategy.
Today, Republicans control most of Texas's U.S. House of Representatives delegation, and both U.S. Senators. Of the 32 congressional districts in Texas, 19 seats are held by Republicans and 13 by Democrats. Texas' Senators are Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. Since 1994, Texans have not elected a Democrat to a statewide office. The state's Democratic presence is primarily minority groups and urban voters, particularly in Austin.
The Texas political atmosphere leans towards fiscal and social conservatism. Since 1980, most of Texas voters have supported Republican Presidential candidates. In 2000 and 2004, Republican George W. Bush won Texas with 60.1% of the vote. He was a "favorite son" as a recent Governor of the state. Austin consistently leans Democratic in both local and statewide elections. Houston is among the few urban areas that consistently vote Republican, but its metropolitan areas are very divided politically. Dallas remains approximately split. Counties along the Rio Grande often vote Democratic. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas)

Day 31: Election Prayer Focus Louisiana

2008-10-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Louisiana - The Pelican State

Motto: Union, justice, and confidence

Capital City: Baton Rouge

Largest City: New Orleans

Leaders

Governor Bobby Jindal (R)

Senator David Vitter (R)

Senator Mary Landrieu (D)

1. Steve Scalise (R)
2. William J. Jefferson (D)
3. Charlie Melancon (D)
4. Jim McCrery (R)
5. Rodney Alexander (R)
6. Don Cazayoux (D)
7. Charles Boustany, Jr. (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Louisiana.

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

*Declare the people of Louisiana are reached with the truth of the Gospel.

*Declare the sin and corruption are exposed in the state of Louisiana.

*Declare restoration to those who lost so much during the hurricane disasters.

*Declare complete healing comes to those who experienced great loss in the hurricane disasters.

*Declare protection over the state of Louisiana.

*Declare pr0tection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases.

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

*Declare legislation in Louisiana is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare Christians in Louisiana get out and vote according to the Word of God.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Louisiana.

Louisiana became a French crown colony in 1731 but was ceded to Spain in 1763 after the French and Indian Wars. (The portion east of the Mississippi came under British control in 1764.) Louisiana reverted to France in 1800 and was sold by Napoleon to the U.S. in 1803. The southern part, known as the territory of Orleans, became the state of Louisiana in 1812.
During the Civil War, Louisiana joined the Confederacy, but New Orleans was captured by Union Adm. David Farragut in April 1862. The state's economy suffered during Reconstruction; however, the situation improved at the turn of the 20th century, with the discovery of oil and natural gas and the growth of industry.
Louisiana is a leader in natural gas, salt, petroleum, and sulfur production. Much of the oil and sulfur comes from offshore deposits. The state also produces large crops of sweet potatoes, rice, sugar cane, pecans, soybeans, corn, and cotton. Leading manufactured items include chemicals, processed food, petroleum and coal products, paper, lumber and wood products, transportation equipment, and apparel.
The state has become a popular tourist destination. New Orleans is the major draw, known particularly for its picturesque French Quarter and the annual Mardi Gras celebration, held since 1838. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108219.html)

Hurricanes
September 1, 2008, Gustav made landfall along the Louisiana coast near Cocodrie in southeastern Louisiana. As late as August 31 it had been projected by the National Hurricane Center that the hurricane would remain at Category 3 or above on September 1, but in the event the center of Gustav made landfall as a strong Category 2 hurricane (1 mph below Category 3), and dropped to Category 1 soon after. As a result of NHC’s forecasts there had been a massive evacuation of New Orleans amid warnings (for example from the city’s mayor, Ray Nagin) that this would be the “storm of the century”, potentially more devastating than Katrina almost exactly three years earlier, but these fears were not realised. Nevertheless, a significant number of deaths were caused by or attributed to Gustav, and around 1.5 million people were without power in Louisiana on September 1.
September 24, 2005, Rita (Category 3 at landfall) struck southwestern Louisiana, flooding many parishes and cities along the coast, including Cameron Parish, Lake Charles, and other towns. The storm's winds further weakened the damaged levees in New Orleans and caused renewed flooding in parts of the city.
August 29, 2005, Katrina (Category 3 at landfall) struck and devastated southeastern Louisiana, while breached and undermined levees in New Orleans allowed 80% of the city to flood. Most people had been evacuated but the majority of the population was homeless. The city was virtually closed until October. It is estimated that more than two million people in the Gulf region were displaced by the hurricane, and more than 1,500 fatalities resulted in Louisiana alone. Public outcry criticized governments at the local, state, and federal levels, citing that preparation and response was neither fast nor adequate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana)

Economy

The state's principal agricultural products include seafood (it is the biggest producer of crawfish in the world, supplying approximately 90%), cotton, soybeans, cattle, sugarcane, poultry and eggs, dairy products, and rice. Industry generates chemical products, petroleum and coal products, food processing and transportation equipment, and paper products. Tourism is an important element in the economy.
The Port of South Louisiana, located on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is the largest volume shipping port in the Western Hemisphere and 4th largest in the world. It is the largest bulk cargo port in the world.
New Orleans and Shreveport are also home to a thriving film industry. State financial incentives and aggressive promotion have put the local film industry on a fast track. In late 2007 and early 2008, a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) film studio will open in Treme, with state-of-the-art production facilities, and a film training institute. Tabasco sauce, which is marketed by one of the United States' biggest producers of hot sauce, the McIlhenny Company, originated on Avery Island. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana)

Energy
Louisiana is rich in crude oil and natural gas. Oil and gas deposits are found in abundance both onshore and offshore in State-owned waters. In addition, vast crude oil and natural gas reserves are found offshore from Louisiana in the federally administered Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Energy Information Administration, the Gulf of Mexico OCS is the largest U.S. oil-producing region. Excluding the Gulf of Mexico OCS, Louisiana ranks fourth in crude oil production and is home to about 2 percent of total U.S. oil reserves. Louisiana’s natural gas reserves account for about 5 percent of the U.S. total.
Louisiana was the first site of oil drilling over water in the world, on Caddo Lake in the northwest corner of the state. The oil and gas industry as well as its subsidiary industries such as transport and refining, have dominated Louisiana's economy since the 1940s. Beginning in 1950, Louisiana was sued several times by the U.S. Interior Department, in efforts by the Federal Government to strip Louisiana of its submerged land property rights. These control vast stores of reservoirs of oil and natural gas.
When oil and gas boomed in the 1970s, so did Louisiana's economy. Likewise, when the oil and gas crash occurred in the 1980s, in large part due to monetary policy set by the Federal Reserve, Louisiana real estate, savings and loans, and local banks fell rapidly in value. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana)

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 1,382,603; Southern Baptist Convention with 768,587; and the United Methodist Church with 160,153.
Like other Southern states, the population of Louisiana is made up of numerous Protestant denominations, comprising 50% of those claiming a religion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana)

Day 30: Election Prayer Focus Arkansas

2008-10-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

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?)

Day 29: Election Prayer Focus Missouri

2008-10-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

Missouri - The Show-Me State

Motto: The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law

Capital City: Jefferson City

Largest City: Kansas City

Missouri is a key swing state in the 2008 election.

Leaders

Governor Matt Blunt (R)

Senator Christopher S. Bond (R)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D)

1. William Lacy Clay (D)
2. Todd Akin (R)
3. Russ Carnahan (D)
4. Ike Skelton (D)
5. Emanuel Cleaver (D)
6. Sam Graves (R)
7. Roy Blunt (R)
8. Jo Ann Emerson (R)
9. Kenny Hulshof (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Missouri.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders in Missouri to reach the people of Missouri with the truth of the Gospel.

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

*Declare corruption in government in Missouri is exposed.

*Declare protection over the state of Missouri.

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

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Missouri.
*Declare Christians in Missouri get out and vote according to the Word of God.

*Declare and accurate accounting of the vote in Missouri.

The U.S. gained Missouri from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and the territory was admitted as a state following the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Throughout the pre–Civil War period and during the war, Missourians were sharply divided in their opinions about slavery and in their allegiances, supplying both Union and Confederate forces with troops. However, the state itself remained in the Union. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108234.html)

Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mixture of urban and rural culture. It has long been considered a political bellwether state. It has both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a border state. It is also a transition between the eastern and western United States, as St. Louis is often called the "western-most eastern city" and Kansas City the "eastern-most western city." Missouri's geography is highly varied. The northern part of the state lies in dissected till plains while the southern part lies in the Ozark Mountains, with the Missouri River dividing the two. The confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is located near St. Louis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri)

Economy

Missouri's economy is highly diversified. Service industries provide more income and jobs than any other segment, and include a growing tourism and travel sector. Wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, and agriculture also play significant roles in the state's economy.
Missouri is a leading producer of transportation equipment (including automobile manufacturing and auto parts), beer and beverages, and defense and aerospace technology. Food processing is the state's fastest-growing industry.
Missouri mines produce 90% of the nation's principal (non-recycled) lead supply. Other natural resources include iron ore, zinc, barite, limestone, and timber.
The state's top agricultural products include grain, sorghum, hay, corn, soybeans, and rice. Missouri also ranks high among the states in cattle and calves, hogs, and turkeys and broilers. A vibrant wine industry also contributes to the economy. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108234.html)

Religion
Of those Missourians who identify with a religion, three out of five are Protestants. There is also a moderate-sized Catholic community in some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholic.

Several religious organizations have headquarters in Missouri, including the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which has its headquarters in Kirkwood, as well as the United Pentecostal Church International in Hazelwood, both outside St. Louis. Kansas City is the headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene. Independence, outside of Kansas City, is the headquarters for the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and the Latter Day Saints group Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This area and other parts of Missouri are also of significant religious and historical importance to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which maintains several sites/visitors centers, and whose members make up about 1 percent of Missouri's population. Springfield is the headquarters of the Assemblies of God and the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. The General Association of General Baptists has its headquarters in Poplar Bluff. The Pentecostal Church of God is headquartered in Joplin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri)

Politics

Missouri is widely regarded as a state bellwether in American politics. The state has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having voted with the nation in every election since 1904 with the exception of Adlai Stevenson in 1956. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's 11 electoral votes by a margin of 7 percentage points with 53.3 percent of the vote. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri)

Day 28: Election Prayer Focus Iowa

2008-10-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

Iowa - Hawkeye State

Motto: Our liberties we prize and our nights we will maintain
Capital/Largest City: Des Moines

Leaders
Gov. Chet Culver (D)
Senator Chuck Grassley (R)
Senator Tom Harkin (D)
1. Bruce Braley (D)
2. Dave Loebsack (D)
3. Leonard Boswell (D)
4. Tom Latham (R)
5. Steve King (R)

Prayer Points
*Declare revival comes to Iowa.
* Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Iowa.
*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leader in Iowa.
*Declare the leaders of Iowa walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare legislation in Iowa is in accordance with the Word of God.
*Declare protection over the state of Iowa.
*Declare proctection over the National Guard and military personnel in Iowa.
*Declare prosperity comes to Iowa.
*Declare new industry and technology comes to Iowa.
*Declare Christians in Iowa vote according to the Word of God.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Iowa.

When Iowa became a state in 1846, its capital was Iowa City; the more centrally located Des Moines became the new capital in 1857. At that time, the state's present boundaries were also drawn.
Although Iowa produces a tenth of the nation's food supply, the value of Iowa's manufactured products is twice that of its agriculture. Major industries are food and associated products, non-electrical machinery, electrical equipment, printing and publishing, and fabricated products.
Iowa stands in a class by itself as an agricultural state. Its farms sell over $10 billion worth of crops and livestock annually. Iowa leads the nation in all corn, soybean, and hog marketings, and comes in third in total livestock sales. Iowa's forests produce hardwood lumber, particularly walnut, and its mineral products include cement, limestone, sand, gravel, gypsum, and coal.
(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108213.html)

Religion
A 2001 survey from the City University of New York found that 52% of Iowans are Protestant, while 23% are Roman Catholic, and other religion made up 6%. 13% responded with non-religious, and 5% did not answer. The largest Protestant denominations by number of adherents are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 268,543; and the United Methodist Church with 248,211. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa)

Economy
Iowa's main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle, eggs and dairy products. Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing and primary metals. Iowa produces the nation's largest amount of ethanol. Des Moines also serves as a center for the insurance industry. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa)

Voter trends
Iowa is currently listed as a swing state in national politics. From 1968 to 1988, it voted Republican in the Presidential Election, voting for Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, Gerald Ford in 1976, and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 However, in 1988, Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis won the state, beating Republican candidate George H. W. Bush by a surprisingly large margin in that state, and winning in several traditionally Republican counties. The state subsequently voted Democratic in succeeding elections, voting for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, and Democrat Al Gore in 2000, but in 2004, George W. Bush won the state by less than 1% margin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa)

Presidential caucus
The state gets considerable attention every four years because it holds the first presidential caucuses, gatherings of voters to select delegates to the state conventions. Along with the New Hampshire primary the following week, Iowa's caucuses have become the starting points for choosing the two major-party candidates for president. The caucuses, held in January of the election year, involve people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidates, rather than casting secret ballots as is done in a primary election. The national and international media give Iowa (and New Hampshire) much of the attention accorded the national candidate selection process, which gives Iowa voters enormous leverage. Those who enter the caucus race often expend enormous effort to reach voters in each of Iowa's 99 counties. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa)

Day 27: Election Prayer Focus Minnesota

2008-10-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

Minnesota - North Star State

Land of 10,000 Lakes

Motto: The North Star

Capital: St. Paul

Largest City: Minneapolis

Leaders

Governor Tim Pawlenty (R)

Senator Norm Coleman (R)

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D)

1. Tim Walz (D)
2. John Kline (R)
3. Jim Ramstad (R)
4. Betty McCollum (D)
5. Keith Ellison (D)
6. Michele Bachmann (R)
7. Collin C. Peterson (D)
8. James L. Oberstar (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Minnesota.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders to bring the Gospel to the people of Minnesota.

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

*Declare legislation in Minnesota is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare protection over the state of Minnesota.

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

*Declare Christians in Minnesota vote according to Biblical values.

*Declare and accurate accounting of the vote in Minnesota.

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Minnesota.

*Declare divine strategy comes to the leaders to pay the large state deficit.

The state is rich in natural resources. A few square miles of land in the north in the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermilion ranges produce more than 75% of the nation's iron ore. The state's farms rank high in yields of corn, wheat, rye, alfalfa, and sugar beets. Other leading farm products include butter, eggs, milk, potatoes, green peas, barley, soybeans, oats, and livestock.
Minnesota's factories produce nonelectrical machinery, fabricated metals, flour-mill products, plastics, electronic computers, scientific instruments, and processed foods. The state is also a leader in the printing and paper-products industries.
Minneapolis is the trade center of the Midwest, and the headquarters of the world's largest super-computer and grain distributor. St. Paul is the nation's biggest publisher of calendars and law books. These “twin cities” are the nation's third-largest trucking center. Duluth has the nation's largest inland harbor and now handles a significant amount of foreign trade. Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic, a world-famous medical center. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108230.html)

Nearly 60% of Minnesota's residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known as the Twin Cities, the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; eastern deciduous forests, also heavily farmed and settled; and the less populated North Woods. The state's image of being populated by whites of Nordic and German descent has some truth, but diversity is increasing. Substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Latin American immigrants have joined the descendants of European immigrants and of the original Native American inhabitants.
The state is known for its moderate-to- progressive politics and social policies, its civic involvement, and high voter turnout. It ranks among the healthiest states, and has one of the most highly educated and literate populations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota)

Religion

Although Christianity dominates, there is a long history of non-Christian faith. Ashkenazi Jewish pioneers set up Saint Paul's first synagogue in 1856, and there are now appreciable numbers of adherents to Islam, Buddhism, and other traditions. The majority of Minnesotans are Protestants, though Roman Catholics make up the largest single Christian denomination. A 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 32% of Minnesotans were affiliated with Protestant traditions, 21% with Evangelical Protestants, 28% with Roman Catholic, 1% each with Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Black Protestant traditions, smaller amounts for other faiths, and 13% unaffiliated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota)

Economy

Thirty-six of the United States' top 1,000 publicly traded companies (by revenue in 2006) are headquartered in Minnesota,including Target, UnitedHealth Group, 3M, Medtronic, General Mills, U.S. Bancorp, and Best Buy. The second-largest privately owned U.S. company, Cargill, is headquartered in Wayzata. Minnesota's state budget is currently facing a $935 million deficit.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota)

Culture

Stereotypical Minnesotan traits include manners known as "Minnesota nice," Lutheranism, a strong sense of community and shared culture, and a distinctive Upper Midwestern accent sprinkled with Scandinavian-sounding words such as uff da. Potlucks, usually with a variety of hotdish casseroles, are popular at community functions, especially church activities.

Health

The people of Minnesota have a high rate of participation in outdoor activities; the state is ranked first in the percentage of residents who engage in regular exercise. Minnesotans have the nation's lowest premature death rate, third-lowest infant mortality rate, and the second-longest life expectancies. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 91% of Minnesotans have health insurance, more than in any other state. These and other measures have led one group to rank Minnesota as the second-healthiest state in the nation, and another to rank it fourth.
On October 1, 2007 Minnesota became the seventeenth state to enact a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars with the enactment of Freedom to Breathe Act.
Medical care is provided by a comprehensive network of hospitals and clinics, headed by two institutions with international reputations. The University of Minnesota Medical School is a highly rated teaching institution that has made a number of breakthroughs in treatment, and its research activities contribute significantly to the state's growing biotechnology industry. The Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned medical practice, is based in Rochester. Mayo and the University are partners in the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a state-funded program that conducts research into cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart health, obesity, and other areas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota)

Education

Students from Minnesota score the highest on the ACT. Minnesota also has the highest percentage of high school graduates.

Politics

Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, and populism has been a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has a consistently high voter turnout, due in part to its liberal voter registration laws, with virtually no evidence of voter fraud. In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, 77.2% of eligible Minnesotans voted—the most of any U.S. state—versus the national average of 60.93%. Previously unregistered voters can register on election day at their polls with evidence of residency.
Hubert Humphrey brought national attention to the state with his address at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Eugene McCarthy's anti-war stance and popularity in the 1968 New Hampshire Primary likely convinced Lyndon B. Johnson to drop out of the presidential election. Minnesotans have consistently cast their Electoral College votes for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976, longer than any other state. Minnesota is the only state in the nation that did not vote for Ronald Reagan in either of his presidential runs.

The state has had active third party movements. The Reform Party, now the Independence Party, was able to elect former mayor of Brooklyn Park and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura to the governorship in 1998. The Independence Party has received enough support to keep major party status. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota)

Mall of America

Mall of America is the most visited shopping mall in the world with more than 40 million visitors annually (or roughly eight times the population of the state of Minnesota). The mall employs over 12,000 workers. In the United States, it is the second largest enclosed mall in terms of retail space but is largest in terms of total enclosed floor area. The concept was designed and built by Triple Five Group, owned by the Ghermezian brothers of Canada, who also own the biggest shopping mall in North America, the West Edmonton Mall.

Day 26: Election Prayer Focus Wisconsin

2008-10-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin - Badger State

Motto: Forward

Capital City: Madison

Largest City: Milwaukee

Leaders

Governor Jim Doyle (D)

Senator Russell D. Feingold (D)

Senator Herbert Kohl (D)

1. Paul D. Ryan (R)
2. Tammy Baldwin (D)
3. Ron J. Kind (D)
4. Gwen S. Moore (D)
5. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R)
6. Thomas E. Petri (R)
7. David R. Obey (D)
8. Steven Kagen (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Wisconsin.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders to reach the people of Wisconsin with the Gospel.

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

*Declare legislation in Wisconsin is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare prosperity comes to Wisconsin.

*Declare protection over the state of Wisconsin.

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

*Declare Christians in Wisconsin vote for candidates who support Biblical values.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is a leading state in milk and cheese production. Other important farm products are peas, beans, beets, corn, potatoes, oats, hay, and cranberries.
The chief industrial products of the state are automobiles, machinery, furniture, paper, beer, and processed foods. Wisconsin ranks second among the 47 paper-producing states. The state's mines produce copper, iron ore, lead, and zinc.
Wisconsin is a pioneer in social legislation, providing pensions for the blind (1907), aid to dependent children (1913), and old-age assistance (1925). In labor legislation, the state was the first to enact an unemployment compensation law (1932) and the first in which a workman's compensation law actually took effect. In 1984, Wisconsin became the first state to adopt the Uniform Marital Property Act.
The state has over 14,000 lakes, of which Winnebago is the largest. Water sports, ice-boating, and fishing are popular, as are skiing and hunting. The 95 state parks, forests, and recreation areas take up one-seventh of the land. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108291.html)

Religion

Eighty-five percent of Wisconsin residents profess to be Christians. The majority are Catholic followed by Lutheran (ELCA, Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod).

Economy

According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Wisconsin’s gross state product was $211.7 billion. The per capita personal income was $32,157 in 2004. Wisconsin's state budget is facing a $652.3 million shortfall.
The economy of Wisconsin is driven by manufacturing, agriculture, and health care. Although manufacturing accounts for a far greater part of the state's income than farming, Wisconsin is often perceived as a farming state. It produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except California, and leads the nation in cheese production. Wisconsin ranks second behind California in overall production of milk and butter, and it ranks third in per-capita milk production, behind Idaho and Vermont. Based on poll results, a Holstein cow, an ear of corn, and a wheel of cheese were chosen for Wisconsin's 50 State Quarters design. Wisconsin ranks first in the production of corn for silage, cranberries, ginseng, and snap beans for processing. Wisconsin is also a leading producer of oats, potatoes, carrots, tart cherries, maple syrup, and sweet corn for processing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin)

Politics

The last election in which Wisconsin supported a Republican Presidential candidate was in 1984. However, both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were close, with Wisconsin receiving heavy doses of national advertising because it was a "swing," or pivot, state. Al Gore carried the presidential vote in 2000 by only 5,700 votes, and John Kerry won Wisconsin in 2004 by 11,000 votes. Republicans had a stronghold in the Fox Valley but elected a Democrat, Steve Kagen, of Appleton, for the 8th Congressional District in 2006. Republicans have held Waukesha County. The City of Milwaukee heads the list of Wisconsin's Democratic strongholds, which also includes Madison and the state's Native American reservations. Wisconsin's largest Congressional district, the 7th, has been a Democratic stronghold since 1969.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin)

Birthplace of the Republican Party

Meeting at a school house in Ripon on February 28, 1854, some thirty opponents of the Nebraska Act called for the organization of a new political party and suggested that Republican would be the most appropriate name (to link their cause with the Declaration of Independence). The radicals also took a leading role in the creation of the Republican Party in many northern states during the summer of 1854. While conservatives and many moderates were content merely to call for the restoration of the Missouri Compromise or a prohibition of slavery extension, the radicals insisted that no further political compromise with slavery was possible.
The February 1854 meeting was the first political meeting of the group that would become the Republican Party. The first meeting by a group that called itself "Republican" took place later in 1854 in Jackson, Michigan. Both cities, along with Exeter, New Hampshire and Crawfordsville, Iowa, bill themselves as the "Birthplace of the Republican Party," however, Jackson is most often associated with this idea, as the event taking place was the first official Republican Party meeting. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripon,_Wisconsin)

America's Dairyland

Wisconsin is known for cheese. Citizens of Wisconsin are referred to as Wisconsinites, although a common nickname (sometimes used pejoratively) among non-residents is "Cheeseheads." This is due to the prevalence and quality of cheesemaking in the state, and for the novelty hats made of yellow foam in the shape of a triangular block of cheese. Cheese curds are an extremely popular treat, exported as gifts throughout the country. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin)

Day 25: Election Prayer Focus Illinois

2008-10-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Illinois - Prairie State

Motto: State sovereignty, national union

Slogan: The Land of Lincoln

Capital City: Springfield

Largest City: Chicago

Leaders

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich (D)

Senator Richard Durbin (D)

Senator Barak Obama (D) Democratic Presidential Candidate

01 Bobby L. Rush D
02 Jesse L. Jackson Jr. D
03 Daniel Lipinski D
04 Luis V. Gutierrez D
05 Rahm Emanuel D
06 Peter J. Roskam R
07 Danny K. Davis D
08 Melissa L. Bean D
09 Janice D. Schakowsky D
10 Mark Steven Kirk R
11 Jerry Weller R
12 Jerry F. Costello D
13 Judy Biggert R
14 Bill Foster D
15 Timothy V. Johnson R
16 Donald A. Manzullo R
17 Phil Hare D
18 Ray LaHood R
19 John Shimkus R

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Illinois.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders to evangelize in Illinois.

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

*Declare that corruption in Illinois is exposed.

*Declare voter fraud in Illinois is exposed.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Illinois.

*Declare that Christians get out and vote in Illinois.

*Declare the large Catholic population vote according to their pro-life values.

*Declare the legislation in Illinois is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare protection over the state of Illinois.

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

*Declare the economy of Illinois prospers.

Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous in the nation. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. Illinois is often viewed as a microcosm of the United States. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois)

Religion

Catholics and Protestants are the largest religious groups in Illinois. However, Illinois is not as heavily Protestant as are neighboring states. Roman Catholics, who are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, account for 30% of the population. Chicago and its suburbs are also home to a large and growing population of Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois)

Politics

Historically, Illinois was a major battleground state between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. In recent elections, it has gradually shifted more Democratic at the national and state level and has become the most Democratic state in the Midwest. Democratic dominance in Illinois is due in part to the control of Chicago. In addition, Democrats have made inroads in the traditionally Republican "collar counties", which are becoming increasingly diverse. Republicans usually prevail in rural northern and central Illinois, and Democrats usually win in southern Illinois and in the Quad Cities and East St. Louis metropolitan areas. Illinois voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the last four elections. John Kerry easily won the state's 21 electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 11 percentage points with 54.8% of the vote despite winning outright in only 15 of 102 counties.
Politics in the state, particularly Chicago machine politics, have been famous for highly visible corruption cases. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois)

(Click this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_machine) to find out more history on the politically corrupt "Chicago Machine".)

Nuclear power
Nuclear power arguably began in Illinois with the Chicago Pile-1, the world's first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the world's first nuclear reactor, built on the University of Chicago campus. With six major nuclear power plants (Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities) housing eleven reactors, Illinois is ranked first in nuclear generating capacity among the 31 states with nuclear plants. In 2005, 48% of Illinois' electricity was generated using nuclear power. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois)

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest, United States. It is a dominant center of finance, industry and culture in the region. It is currently ranked as the third-most populous city in the United States after New York and Los Angeles, with a population of nearly 3 million people. The Chicago metropolitan area (commonly referred to as Chicagoland) has a population of over 9.7 million people in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, making it also the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Adjacent to Lake Michigan, it is among the world's twenty-five largest urban areas by population, and rated an alpha world city by the World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University.
Often called the Windy City and the City of Broad Shoulders, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 after initially being founded in 1833 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. The city soon became a major transportation hub in North America and quickly became the transportation, financial and industrial center of the Midwest. Today the city's attractions bring 44.2 million visitors annually.
Chicago was once the capital of the railroad industry and until the 1960s the world's largest meatpacking facilities were at the Union Stock Yards; currently the city is home to the nation's second busiest airport, O'Hare International. Chicago became notorious worldwide for its violent gangsters in the 1920s, most notably Al Capone, and for the political corruption in one of the longest lasting political machines in the nation. The city has long been a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has been home to numerous influential politicians including the current presidential nominee, Barack Obama. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago)

Day 24: Election Prayer Focus Indiana

2008-10-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

Indiana - Hoosier State

Motto: The crossroads of America

Capital/Largest City: Indianapolis

Leaders

Governor Mitchell Daniels (R)

Senator Evan Bayh (D)

Senator Richard G. Lugar (R)

1. Peter J. Visclosky (D)
2. Joe Donnelly (D)
3. Mark E. Souder (R)
4. Steve Buyer (R)
5. Dan Burton (R)
6. Mike Pence (R)
7. Andre Carson (D)
8. Brad Ellsworth (D)
9. Baron Hill (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Indiana.

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

*Declare strategies come to Christian leaders to evangelize Indiana.

*Declare voters in Indiana get out and vote.

*Declare legislation in Indiana is in accordance to the Word of God.

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

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Indiana.

*Declare new technology expands in Indiana in the area of bio-fuels research.

*Declare protection over the state of Indiana.

*Declare protection over the extensive military installations in Indiana.

*Declare protection over the National Guard and military personnel in Indiana.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Indiana.

Indiana is a diverse state with a few large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns. It is known nationally for its sports teams and athletic events: the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, champions of Super Bowl XLI, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis 500 motorsports race, the largest single-day sporting event in the world, and for a strong basketball tradition, often called Hoosier Hysteria.

Economy

Indiana's economy is considered to be one of the most business-friendly in the U.S. This is due in part to its conservative business climate, low business taxes, relatively low union membership, and labor laws. The doctrine of at-will employment, whereby an employer can terminate an employee for any or no reason, is in force.

Energy

Indiana is becoming a leading state in the production of biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel. Indiana now has 12 ethanol and 4 biodiesel plants located in the state. Reynolds, located north of Lafayette is now known as BioTown, USA. The town is experimenting with using biofuels and organic fuels, such as those made with manure, to power the town.

Indiana's power production chiefly consists of the consumption of fossil fuels, mainly coal. Indiana has 24 coal power plants, including the largest coal power plant in the United States, Gibson Generating Station, located near Owensville, Indiana. While Indiana has made commitments to increasing use of renewable resources such as wind, hydroelectric, biomass, or solar power, however, progress has been very slow, mainly because of the continued abundance of coal in Southern Indiana. Most of the new plants in the state have been "coal gasification" plants. Another source is hydroelectric power.
Indiana has six hydroelectric dams. The Norway and Oakdale Dams near Monticello provide electrical power, recreation, and other benefits to local citizens. The Norway Dam created Lake Shafer and the Oakdale Dam created Lake Freeman. The Markland Dam, on the Ohio River, near Vevay, Indiana also produces electricity. The city of Wabash was the first electrically lighted city in the country.
Solar power and wind power are being investigated, and geothermal power is being used commercially. New estimates in 2006 raised the wind capacity for Indiana from 30 MW at 50 m turbine height to 40,000 MW at 70 m, which could double at 100 m, the height of newer turbines. As of the end of June, 2008, Indiana has installed 130 MW of wind turbines and has under construction another 400 MW.

Religion

Although the largest single religious denomination in the state is Roman Catholic (836,009 members), most of the population are members of various Protestant denominations. The largest Protestant denomination by number of adherents in 2000 was the United Methodis Church with 288,308. A study by the Graduate Center found that 20% are Roman Catholic, 14% belong to different Baptist churches, 10% are other Christians, 9% are Methodist, and 6% are Lutheran. The study also found that 16% are secular.

Politics

Historically, Republicans have been strongest in the eastern and central portions of the state, as well as the suburbs of the state's major cities. Democrats have been strongest in the northwestern and southern parts of the state along with the major cities. However, outside of Indianapolis, the Chicago suburbs, and Bloomington, the state's Democrats tend to be somewhat more conservative than their counterparts in the rest of the country, especially on social issues.

Crossroads of America

The major U.S. Interstate highways in Indiana are I-69, I-65, I-94, I-70, I-74, I-64, I-80, and I-90. The various highways intersecting in and around Indianapolis earned it the nickname "The Crossroads of America". Originally the "Crossroads of America" referred to Terre Haute, where the two major US 41 and US 40 ("Old National Road") highways intersected.

Day 23: Election Prayer Focus Michigan

2008-10-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Michigan - Wolverine State

Motto: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you

Capital City: Lansing

Largest City: Detroit

Michigan is a key swing state in this election.

Leaders

Governor Jennifer Granholm (D)

Senator Carl Levin (D)

Senator Debbie A. Stabenow (D)

1. Bart Stupak (D)
2. Peter Hoekstra (R)
3. Vernon J. Ehlers (R)
4. Dave Camp (R)
5. Dale Kildee (D)
6. Fred Upton (R)
7. Tim Walberg (R)
8. Mike Rogers (R)
9. Joseph Knollenberg (R)
10. Candice Miller (R)
11. Thaddeus McCotter (R)
12. Sander M. Levin (D)
13. Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (D)
14. John Conyers, Jr. (D)
15. John D. Dingell (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Michigan.

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

*Declare Christians in Michigan get out and vote.

*Declare the large Catholic community in Michigan votes according to its pro-life principles.

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders to evangelize the large Muslim population.

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

*Declare legislation in Michigan is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare prosperity comes to Michigan.

*Declare a strengthening to the economy of Michigan.

*Declare protection over the state of Michigan.

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

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Michigan.

Bordering on four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan is divided into Upper and Lower peninsulas by the Straits of Mackinac, which link lakes Michigan and Huron. The two parts of the state are connected by the Mackinac Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges. To the north, connecting lakes Superior and Huron, are the busy Sault Ste. Marie Canals.
While Michigan ranks first among the states in production of motor vehicles and parts, it is also a leader in many other manufacturing and processing lines, including prepared cereals, machine tools, airplane parts, refrigerators, hardware, and furniture.
The state produces important amounts of iron, copper, iodine, gypsum, bromine, salt, lime, gravel, and cement. Michigan's farms grow apples, cherries, beans, pears, grapes, potatoes, and sugar beets. Michigan's forests contribute significantly to the state's economy, supporting thousands of jobs in the wood-product, tourism, and recreation industries. With 10,083 inland lakes and 3,288 mi of Great Lakes shoreline, Michigan is a prime area for both commercial and sport fishing. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108228.html)

Politics

The Republican Party dominated Michigan until the Great Depression. In the 1912 election, Michigan was one of the six states to support progressive Republican and third party candidate Theodore Roosevelt for President after he lost the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft. In recent years, the state has leaned toward the Democratic Party in national elections. Michigan supported Democrats in the last four presidential elections. In 2004, John Kerry carried the state over George W. Bush, winning Michigan's seventeen electoral votes with 51.2% of the vote. Democrats have won each of the last three, nine of the last ten, and fifteen of the last eighteen U.S. Senate elections in Michigan. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, recently won a second term, defeating Republican candidate Dick DeVos. Republican strength is greatest in the western, northern, and rural parts of the state, especially in the Grand Rapids area. Democrats are strongest in the east, especially in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, and Saginaw.
Michigan was the home of Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States. He was born in Nebraska and moved as an infant to Michigan and grew up there. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan)

Religion

The largest denomination by number of adherents in 2000 was the Roman Catholic Church with 2,019,926; The largest Protestant denominations were the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod with 244,231 and the United Methodist Church with 222,269 adherents. Over 300,000 Michigan residents trace their roots to the Middle East. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan)

Economy

Michigan's economy is the worst in the nation. It leads the nation in home foreclosures and the number of people of Food Stamsp. Michigan also has the lowest numbers in job creation.

The Michigan economy leads in information technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing. Michigan is commonly known for its auto industry. Michigan ranks fourth nationally in high-tech employment with 568,000 high-tech workers, including 70,000 in the automotive industry. Michigan typically ranks second or third in overall research and development expenditures in the United States. Its research and development, which includes automotive, comprises a higher percentage of the state's overall gross domestic product than for any other U.S. state. The state is an important source of engineering job opportunities. The domestic auto industry accounts directly and indirectly for one of every ten jobs in the U.S. Some of the major industries/products/services include automobiles, cereal products, information technology, aerospace, military equipment, copper, iron, and furniture. Michigan is the third leading grower of Christmas trees with 60,520 acres (245 km2) of land dedicated to Christmas tree farming. The beverage Vernors was invented in Michigan in 1866, sharing the title of oldest soft drink with Hires Root Beer. Faygo was founded in Detroit on November 4, 1907. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan)

Day 22: Election Prayer Focus Ohio

2008-10-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Ohio - Buckeye State

Motto: With God all things are possible

Capital/Largest City: Columbus

Leaders

Governor Ted Strickland (D)

Senator Sherrod Brown (D)

Senator George V. Voinovich (R)

1. Steve Chabot (R)
2. Jean Schmidt (R)
3. Michael Turner (R)
4. Jim Jordan (R)
5. Robert E. Latta (R)
6. Charles Wilson (D)
7. David Hobson (R)
8. John A. Boehner (R)
9. Marcy Kaptur (D)
10. Dennis J. Kucinich (D)
11. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D)
12. Patrick J. Tiberi (R)
13. Betty Sutton (D)
14. Steven C. LaTourette (R)
15. Deborah Pryce (R)
16. Ralph Regula (R)
17. Tim Ryan (D)
18. Zack Space (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare an end to voter fraud in Ohio.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Ohio.

*Declare Christians get out and vote in Ohio.

*Declare revival comes to the state of Ohio.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders in Ohio for reaching the lost.

*Declare expansion of Christian media in Ohio.

*Declare legislation in Ohio is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare protection over the people of Ohio.

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

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Ohio.

*Declare the economy of Ohio remains strong.

Ohio is one of the nation's industrial leaders, ranking third in manufacturing employment nationwide. Important manufacturing centers are located in or near Ohio's major cities. Akron is known for rubber; Canton for roller bearings; Cincinnati for jet engines and machine tools; Cleveland for auto assembly, auto parts, and steel; Dayton for office machines, refrigeration, and heating and auto equipment; Youngstown and Steubenville for steel; and Toledo for glass and auto parts.
The state's fertile soil produces soybeans, corn, oats, greenhouse and nursery products, wheat, hay, and fruit, including apples, peaches, strawberries, and grapes. More than half of Ohio's farm receipts come from dairy farming and sheep and hog raising. Ohio ranks fourth among the states in lime production and also ranks high in sand and gravel and crushed stone production.

(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108258.html)

Ohio has the highest population density of any state outside of the Eastern Seaboard, and it is the seventh-largest U.S. state according to population.

Economy

Ohio is a major producer of machines, tires and rubber products, steel, processed foods, tools, and other manufactured goods. This is not immediately obvious because Ohio specializes in capital goods (goods used to make other goods, such as machine tools, automobile parts, industrial chemicals, and plastic moldings). Nevertheless, there are well known Ohio consumer items including some Procter & Gamble products, Smuckers jams and jellies, and Day-Glo paints.
There are also numerous automobile plants in Ohio that manufacture cars, most notably the Jeep plant in Toledo, where the vehicles have been made since their initial release in World War II. Honda, Ford, and General Motors also have or had automobile plants in Ohio; in the case of the latter, one of their plants in Ohio (Lordstown Assembly, near Youngstown) is located right off the Ohio Turnpike with its own exit.
Ohio is the site of the invention of the airplane, resulting from the experiments of the Wright brothers in Dayton. (Wright State University located in Dayton is named in their honor.) Production of aircraft in the USA is now centered elsewhere, but a large experimental and design facility, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been located near Dayton and serves in the co-ordination of production of US military aircraft. On the base are located Wright Hill and Huffman Prairie, where many of the earliest aerodynamic experiments of the Wright brothers were performed. Ohio today also has many aerospace, defense, and NASA parts and systems suppliers scattered throughout the state.
As part of the Corn Belt, agriculture also plays an important role in the state's economy. There is also a small commercial fishing sector on Lake Erie, and the principal catch is yellow perch. In addition, Ohio's historical attractions, varying landscapes, and recreational opportunities are the basis for a thriving tourist industry. Over 2,500 lakes and 43,000 miles of river landscapes are a paradise for boaters, fishermen, and swimmers. Of special historical interest are the Native American archaeological sites—including grave mounds and other sites. According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture Ohio in 2001 ranked as 1st in Swiss cheese, 2nd in eggs,3rd in tomatoes, 5th in milk, 6th in corn, 6th in soybean, 8th in grapes, 9th in hogs, 9th in floriculture, and 11th in apples.
Two major amusement parks, Cedar Point, and Kings Island, are also important to the tourism industry. Ohio's Amish country is also a major pull for the State's tourism industry. Though still forming itself, tourism is becoming a major industry in Cleveland, especially medical tourism.
In 2006 the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Ohio's gross state product was $461.3 billion ranking it 7th in the nation. If Ohio was its own nation in would be ranked 17th in GDP ranked behind the Netherlands and above Belgium. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $30,129, 25th in the nation. Ohio's agricultural outputs are soybeans, dairy products, corn, tomatoes, hogs, cattle, poultry, and eggs. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, food processing, and electricity equipment. According to the 2007 Fortune list Ohio had 28 Fortune 500 companies (ranked 5th nationally) and 60 Fortune 1000 companies (also ranked 5th nationally). 3 Ohio cities (Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland) have 5 or more Fortune 500 Companies (ranked 2nd behind Texas among the states.)
Ohio's budget could face a deficit as high as $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2009.
Ohio is recognized for its health care, due to several flagship hospitals that operate in the northeast region of the state. The Cleveland Clinic, ranked among the three leading hospitals in the U.S., has its world headquarters and main campus in Cleveland. Its partner, the University Hospitals of Cleveland health system, includes the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, ranked among the top ten children's hospitals in the country. Cincinnati Children's Hospital is the leading center for research into childhood diseases in the state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio)

Religion in Ohio
The first religious settlement in Ohio was founded in 1751 among the Huron Indians in what is now the Sandusky area. Shortly afterward, Moravian missionaries converted some Delaware Indians to Christianity; the first Protestant church was founded by Congregationalist ministers at Marietta in 1788. Dissident religious sects such as the Shakers, Amish, and Quakers moved into Ohio from the early 18th century onward, but the majority of settlers in the early 19th century were Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, and Episcopalians.

According to the 2000 Census, Ohio's reported Roman Catholic population was 2,231,832, and state's Jewish population was 142,255, with the largest Jewish communities being in the Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus metro areas. Muslims in Ohio accounted for 41,281 people, while Ohio's communities of Amish and Mennonites -- among the largest in the nation -- tallied over 24,000 Amish and over 20,000 Mennonites respectively, located primarily in central Ohio.

The largest Protestant denominations and their adherents in 2000 were the United Methodist Church, 566,084; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 301,749; the Southern Baptist Convention, 200,232; the Presbyterian Church USA, 160,800; the United Church of Christ, 157,180; Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 142,571; and the American Baptist Churches USA, 117,757. About 6.2 million people (55.1% of the population) declined to be counted as members of any religious organization. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio)

Politics

Politically, Ohio is considered a swing state. The Economist notes that, "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of everything American—part north-eastern and part southern, part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and part booming suburb,"
The mixture of urban and rural areas, and the presence of both large blue-collar industries and significant white-collar commercial districts leads to a balance of conservative and liberal population that (together with the state's 20 electoral votes, more than most swing states) makes the state very important to the outcome of national elections. Ohio was a deciding state in the 2004 presidential election between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Bush narrowly won the state's 20 electoral votes by a margin of 2 percentage points and 50.8% of the vote. The state supported Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but supported Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Ohio was also a deciding factor in the 1948 presidential election when Democrat Harry S. Truman defeated Republican Thomas Dewey (who had won the state four years earlier) and in the 1976 presidential election when Democrat Jimmy Carter defeated Republican Gerald Ford by a slim margin in Ohio and took the election.
Ohio's demographics cause many to consider the state as a microcosm of the nation as a whole. A Republican presidential candidate has never won the White House without winning Ohio, and Ohio has gone to the winner of the election in all but two contests since 1892, backing only losers Thomas E. Dewey in 1944 (Ohio's John Bricker was his running mate) and Richard M. Nixon in 1960. Cosequently, the state is very important to the campaigns of both major parties. Ohio had 20 electoral votes in the Electoral College in 2004.

Voter Fraud in Ohio

Below is an article about alleged voter fraud in Cleveland carried out by ACORN, a group of community organizers of which Barak Obama was a trainer and also provided leagl counsel.

Cuyahoga board probes ACORN voter registration drive
Posted by Joe Guillen August 27, 2008 23:55PM

CLEVELAND -- A national organization that conducts voter registration drives for low-income people has curtailed its push in Cuyahoga County after the Board of Elections accused its workers of submitting fraudulent registration cards.
The board is investigating the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Results of the inquiry could be turned over to the county prosecutor.
Board employees said ACORN workers often handed in the same name on a number of voter registration cards, but showing that person living at different addresses. Other times, cards had the same name listed, but a different date of birth. Still another sign of possible fraud showed a number of people living at an address that turned out to be a restaurant.
"I'm obviously very concerned," Board Chairman Jeff Hastings said. "This goes to the essence of our democracy."
ACORN had a part-time staff of 30 who worked five days a week to find unregistered people. The workers made $8 an hour and were required to sign up 20 voters in each five-hour shift.
The elections board's registration department said in a report that ACORN's quota contributed to the possible fraud.ACORN stopped the registration efforts of the part-timers on Aug. 15. Three salaried employees continue the drive to sign up voters.
Kristopher Harsh, head organizer for the agency's Cleveland office, said it is unlikely a full-fledged movement will resume before the Nov. 4 election.
ACORN has submitted about 75,000 voter registration cards to the Cuyahoga board this year.
Board employees are unsure how many of the cards are fraudulent. But the voter registration department received so many suspicious cards that it began compiling a binder with evidence. The binder grew to be an inch-thick.
At its Tuesday meeting, the elections board cancelled five fraudulent registrations submitted by ACORN workers. The cases involved already-registered voters who alerted the board after being notified by mail that their registration records had been updated.
Fraudulent cards not caught by the board should not harm the November election, said Betty Grant Edwards, manager of the board's registration department. She said information on registration cards must match required identification shown at the polls. If the facts do not match, a voter receives a provisional ballot and the information is checked before the vote is counted.
ACORN is a national organization that promotes social justice for low and moderate-income families. It is among many groups, some politically affiliated, that register voters.In August 2006, elections boards in Franklin and Summit counties investigated potentially bogus registration cards submitted by ACORN. The Franklin board turned over 500 cards to its county prosecutor, but the board's Deputy Director Matthew Damschroder said the prosecutor could not file charges because it was impossible to nail down who filled out the fake cards.
ACORN's national voter registration director, Kimberly Olsen, said Cleveland voter registration efforts have been wildly successful.
"We hit our goals early, registering 86,000 people in Cleveland proper," Olsen said Wednesday in a written statement.
Elections board member Eben "Sandy" McNair said it was doubtful the agency deliberately defrauded voters.
"You had a badly run operation that was not paying sufficient attention," he said.

(http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/08/cuyahoga_board_probes_voter_re.html)

The practice in Ohio which h,as recently been upheld by court decision, which permits same day registration and voting is ripe for fraudulent activity. It is imperative that we pray that voter fraud is exposed at every level. The integirty of the electoral process is vital. The peaceful transfer of power envisioned by our founding fathers is based solely upon the power of "We the People" choosing our elected officials, not a bunch of community organizers choosing for us.

Day 21: Election Prayer Focus Kentucky

2008-10-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Kentucky - The Bluegrass State

Motto: United we stand, divided we fall
Capital City: Frankfort
Largest City: Louisville

Leaders
Governor Steve Beshear (D)
Senator Jim Bunning (R)
Senator Mitch McConnell (R)
1. Edward Whitfield (R)
2. Ron Lewis (R)
3. John Yarmuth (D)
4. Geoff Davis (R)
5. Harold Rogers (R)
6. Ben Chandler (D)

Prayer Points
*Declare revival comes again to Kentucky.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Kentucky.
*Declare Christian media expands in the state of Kentucky.
*Declare Christian leaders have divine strategies to reach the lost.
*Declare poverty is broken and increased prosperity comes to Kentucky.
*Declare protection over the people of Kentucky.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Kentucky.
*Declare protection over those who work in the mining industry in Kentucky.
*Declare Christians in Kentucky get out and vote.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Kentucky.

*Declare legislation in Kentucky is in accordance with the Word of God.

Kentucky was the first region west of the Allegheny Mountains to be settled by American pioneers. James Harrod established the first permanent settlement at Harrodsburg in 1774; the following year Daniel Boone, who had explored the area in 1767, blazed the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap and founded Boonesboro.
Politically, the Kentucky region was originally part of Virginia, but statehood was gained in 1792. Gen. Anthony Wayne's victory in 1794 at Fallen Timbers in Ohio marked the end of Native American resistance in the area and secured the Kentucky frontier.
As a slaveholding state with a considerable abolitionist population, Kentucky was caught in the middle during the Civil War, supplying both Union and Confederate forces with thousands of troops.
Kentucky prides itself on producing some of the nation's best tobacco, horses, and whiskey. Corn, soybeans, wheat, fruit, hogs, cattle, and dairy products are among the agricultural items produced.
Among the manufactured items produced in the state are motor vehicles, furniture, aluminum ware, brooms, apparel, lumber products, machinery, textiles, and iron and steel products. Kentucky also produces significant amounts of petroleum, natural gas, fluorspar, clay, and stone. However, coal accounts for 85% of the total mineral income.
Louisville is famous for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and the Bluegrass country around Lexington is the home of some of the world's finest race horses. Other attractions are Mammoth Cave, the George S. Patton, Jr., Military Museum at Fort Knox, and Old Fort Harrod State Park. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108217.html)

Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass is present in many of the lawns and pastures throughout the state. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the Lower 48 states, and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. It is also home to the highest per capita number of deer and turkey in the United States, and the nation's most productive coalfield. Kentucky is also known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing, tobacco, and college basketball. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)

Lakes and rivers
Lake Cumberland is the largest artificial lake, in terms of volume, east of the Mississippi River.
Kentucky’s 90,000 miles (140,000 km) of streams provides one of the most expansive and complex stream systems in the nation. Kentucky has both the largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi in water volume (Lake Cumberland) and surface area (Kentucky Lake). It is the only U.S. state to be bordered on three sides by rivers — the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Big Sandy River and Tug Fork to the east. Its major internal rivers include the Kentucky River, Tennessee River, Cumberland River, Green River, and Licking River.
Though it has only three major natural lakes, the state is home to many artificial lakes. Kentucky also has more navigable miles of water than any other state in the union, other than Alaska.

Natural environment and conservation
Kentucky has an expansive park system which includes one national park, two National Recreation areas, two National Historic Parks, two national forests, 45 state parks, 37,696 acres (153 km2) of state forest, and 82 Wildlife Management Areas.
Kentucky has been part of two of the most successful wildlife reintroduction projects in United States history. In the winter of 1997, the state's eastern counties began to re-stock elk, which had been extinct from the area for over 150 years. As of 2006, the state's herd was estimated at 5,700 animals, the largest herd east of the Mississippi River.
The state also stocked wild turkeys in the 1950s. Once extinct in the state, today Kentucky has more turkeys per capita than any other eastern state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)

Religion
In 2000, The Association of Religion Data Archives reported that of Kentucky's 4,041,769 residents:
33.68% were members of evangelical Protestant churches
Southern Baptist Convention (979,994 members, 24.25%)
Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (106,638 members, 2.64%)
Church of Christ (58,602 members, 1.45%)
10.05% were Roman Catholics
8.77% belonged to mainline Protestant churches
United Methodist Church (208,720 members, 5.16%)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (67,611 members, 1.67%)
0.05% were members of orthodox churches
0.88% were affiliated with other theologies
46.57% were not affiliated with any church.

Religious movements were important in the early history of Kentucky. Perhaps the most famous event was the interdenominational revival in August 1801 at the Cane Ridge Meeting house in Bourbon County. As part of what is now known as the "Western Revival", thousands began meeting around a Presbyterian communion service on August 6, 1801, and ended six days later on August 12, 1801 when both humans and horses ran out of food. Some claim that the Cane Ridge revival was propagated from an earlier camp meeting at Red River Meeting House in Logan County. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)

Cane Ridge was the site, in 1801, of a large camp meeting which drew thousands of people and had a lasting influence as one of the landmark events of the Second Great Awakening. While Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians all participated, and many of the "spiritual exercises" such as glossolalia were exhibited that later became more associated with the Pentecostal movement, perhaps the most lasting legacy of the Cane Ridge experience was a formalization of what became known in the future as the Restoration Movement, the origin of the Disciples of Christ, the Church of Christ, and several other, smaller groups. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_Ridge,_Kentucky)

First Campmeeting

The Red River Meeting House was the site of the first religious camp meeting in the United States and the start of the Second Great Awakening from June 13–17, 1800.

There were several hundred people in attendance from Friday through Tuesday. The attendees were mostly from McGready’s churches at Red River, Muddy River, and Gasper River.

A letter from McGready to a friend dated October 23, 1801, described the meeting.
“In June, the sacrament was administered at Red River. This was the greatest time we had ever seen before. On Monday multitudes were struck down under awful conviction; the cries of the distressed filled the whole house. There you might see profane swearers, and sabbath breakers pricked to the heart, and crying out, "what shall we do to be saved?" There frolicers, and dancers crying for mercy. There you might see little children of ten, eleven and twelve years of age, praying and crying for redemption, in the blood of Jesus, in agonies of distress. During this sacrament, and until the Tuesday following, ten persons we believe, were savingly brought home to Christ.”

Barton W. Stone was one observer of the events and also recorded a description.
“There, on the edge of a prairie in Logan County, Kentucky, the multitudes came together and continued a number of days and nights encamped on the ground, during which time worship was carried on in some part of the encampment. The scene was new to me and passing strange. It baffled description. Many, very many, fell down as men slain in battle, and continued for hours together in an apparently breathless and motionless state, sometimes for a few moments reviving and exhibiting symptoms of life by a deep groan or piercing shriek, or by a prayer for mercy fervently uttered. After lying there for hours they obtained deliverance. The gloomy cloud that had covered their faces seemed gradually and visibly to disappear, and hope, in smiles, brightened into joy. They would rise, shouting deliverance, and then would address the surrounding multitude in language truly eloquent and impressive. With astonishment did I hear men, women, and children declaring the wonderful works of God and the glorious mysteries of the gospel. Their appeals were solemn, heart-penetrating, bold, and free. Under such circumstances many others would fall down into the same state from which the speakers had just been delivered.”

A more recent analysis by Paul Conkin downplays the significance of the Red River meeting. He states that McGready was only one of several preachers at the event, and it was McGready's widely-circulated, yet exaggerated account which developed most people's perception of the event.

Politics

Where politics are concerned, Kentucky historically has been very hard fought and leaned slightly toward the Democratic Party, although it was never included among the "Solid South." In 2006, 57.05% of the state's voters were officially registered as Democrats, 36.55% registered Republican, and 6.39% registered with some other political party.
Since 1964, Kentucky has voted with the winner of the election for President of the United States. Kentucky has voted Republican in five of the last seven presidential elections, including George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Bush won the state's eight electoral votes overwhelmingly in 2004 by a margin of 20 percentage points and 59.6% of the vote. However the Commonwealth has also supported the last three Democratic candidates elected to the White House: Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)

Economy

The total gross state product for 2006 was US$146 billion, 27th in the nation. Its per-capita personal income was US$28,513, 43rd in the nation. Kentucky's agricultural outputs are horses, cattle, tobacco, dairy products, hogs, soybeans, and corn. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, chemical products, electric equipment, machinery, food processing, tobacco products, coal, and tourism. The Eastern Kentucky Coal Fields are recognized as being among the most productive in the nation.
Kentucky ranks 4th among U.S. states in the number of automobiles and trucks assembled. The Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR, Ford Explorer, Ford Super Duty trucks, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, and Toyota Solara are assembled in Kentucky. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)

"Unbridled Spirit"

To boost Kentucky’s image, give it a consistent reach, and help Kentucky "stand out from the crowd", former Governor Ernie Fletcher launched a comprehensive branding campaign with the hope of making its $12 - $14 million advertising budget more effective. The "Unbridled Spirit" brand was the result of a $500,000 contract with New West, a Kentucky-based public relations advertising and marketing firm to develop a viable brand and tag line. The Fletcher administration aggressively marketed the brand in both the public and private sectors. The "Welcome to Kentucky" signs at border areas have Unbridled Spirit's symbol on them.
The previous campaign was neither a failure nor a success. Kentucky's "It's that friendly" slogan hoped to draw more people into the state based of the idea of southern hospitality. Though most Kentuckians liked the slogan, as it embraced southern values, it was also not an image that encouraged tourism as much as initially hoped for. Therefore it was necessary to reconfigure a slogan to embrace Kentucky as a whole while also encouraging more people to visit the Bluegrass. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky)

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies 121 pounds. The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate duration, and is also called "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the US and typically draws around 155,000 fans.

Kentucky has been a major center of horse breeding and racing since the late 18th century. From the time the region was settled, the fields of the Bluegrass region were noted for producing superior race horses. In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, traveled to England, visiting the Epsom Derby, a famous race that had been running annually since 1780. From there, Clark went on to Paris, France, where in 1863, a group of racing enthusiasts had formed the French Jockey Club and had organized the Grand Prix de Paris, which at the time was the greatest race in France.
Returning home to Kentucky, Clark organized the Louisville Jockey Club for the purpose of raising money to build quality racing facilities just outside of the city. The track would soon become known as Churchill Downs, named for Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.'s relatives, John and Henry Churchill, who had provided the land for the racetrack. Officially, the racetrack was incorporated as Churchill Downs in 1937. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Derby)

Day 20: Election Prayer Focus Tennessee

2008-10-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tennessee - The Volunteer State

Motto: Agriculture and Commerce

Slogan: America at its best!

Capital City: Nashville

Largest City: Memphis

Nashville's Belmont University will host the

Presidential Debate

October 7, 2008

Leaders

Governor Phil Bredesen (D)

Senator Lamar Alexander (R)

Senator Bob Corker (R)

1. David Davis (R)
2. John J. Duncan (R)
3. Zach Wamp (R)
4. Lincoln Davis (D)
5. Jim Cooper (D)
6. Bart Gordon (D)
7. Marsha Blackburn (R)
8. John Tanner (D)
9. Steve Cohen (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Tennessee.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders in Tennessee to reach the lost.

*Declare Christian media expands in the state of Tennessee.

*Declare media outlets in Nashville broadcast the Good News of the Gospel to the nation.

*Declare protection over the TVA. (A major source of electrical power.)

*Declare protection over the people of Tennessee.

*Declare protection over the National Guard and military personnel.

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

*Declare legislation in Tennessee is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare Christians in Tennessee get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Tennessee.

*Declare the vast population of college students in Tennessee receives the message of the Gospel.

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Tennessee.

First visited by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540, the Tennessee area would later be claimed by both France and England as a result of the 1670s and 1680s explorations of Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, Sieur de la Salle, and James Needham and Gabriel Arthur. Great Britain obtained the area after the French and Indian Wars in 1763.
During 1784–1787, the settlers formed the “state” of Franklin, which was disbanded when the region was allowed to send representatives to the North Carolina legislature. In 1790 Congress organized the territory south of the Ohio River, and Tennessee joined the Union in 1796.
Although Tennessee joined the Confederacy during the Civil War, there was much pro-Union sentiment in the state, which was the scene of extensive military action.
The state is now predominantly industrial; the majority of its population lives in urban areas. Among the most important products are chemicals, textiles, apparel, electrical machinery, furniture, and leather goods. Other lines include food processing, lumber, primary metals, and metal products. The state ranks high in the production of marble, zinc, pyrite, and ball clay.
Tennessee is a leading tobacco-producing state. Other farming income is derived from livestock and dairy products, as well as greenhouse and nursery products and cotton.
With six other states, Tennessee shares the extensive federal reservoir developments on the Tennessee and Cumberland River systems. The Tennessee Valley Authority operates a number of dams and reservoirs in the state. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108274.html)

Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Tennessee are:
Christian: 82%
Baptist: 39%
Methodist: 10%
Church of Christ: 6%
Roman Catholic: 6%
Presbyterian: 3%
Church of God: 2%
Lutheran: 2%
Pentecostal: 2%
Other Christian (includes unspecified "Christian" and "Protestant"): 12%
Other religions: 3%
Islam: 1%
Judaism: 0.5%
Non-religious: 9%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 1,414,199; the United Methodist Church with 393,994; the Churches of Christ with 216,648; and the Roman Catholic Church with 183,161.
Tennessee is home to several Protestant denominations, such as the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God and The Church of God of Prophecy, both located in (Cleveland, Tennessee), and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Free Will Baptist denomination is headquartered in Antioch, and its main bible college is in Nashville. The Southern Baptist Convention maintains its general headquarters in Nashville. Publishing houses of several denominations are located in Nashville.
The state's small Roman Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish communities are mainly centered in the metropolitan areas of Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee)

Politics
Tennessee politics, like that of most U.S. states, is dominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties. After going for Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower twice in the 1950s, Tennessee currently tilts towards the Republican Party, but tends to be politically moderate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee)

Education
Tenessee is home to thousands of college students who attend over 63 colleges and universities.

Music City USA

The birth of the Grand Ole Opry in 1925 combined with an already thriving publishing industry poised Nashville to become a center for musical entertainment. The Grand Ole Opry started out as the WSM Barn Dance on the fifth-floor radio station studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville. Some of the bands regularly featured on the show during its early days included the Possum Hunters (with Dr. Humphrey Bate), the Fruit Jar Drinkers, the Crook Brothers, the Binkley Brothers Clod Hoppers, Uncle Dave Macon, Sid Harkreader, Deford Bailey, Fiddling Arthur Smith, and the Gully Jumpers. The Opry was nationally broadcast by the NBC Radio Network from 1944 to 1956; for much of its run, it aired one hour after the program that had inspired it, the National Barn Dance. From October, 1955 to September, 1956, ABC-TV aired an hour-long television version live from Nashville once a month on Saturday nights.
On October 2, 1954, a teenage Elvis Presley made his first (and only) performance there. Although the public reacted politely to his revolutionary brand of rockabilly music, after the show he was told by one of the organizers (Opry manager Jim Denny) that he ought to return to Memphis to resume his truck-driving career, prompting him to swear never to return. In an era when the Grand Ole Opry represented solely country music, audiences did not accept Elvis on the Opry because of his infusion of rhythm and blues as well as his infamous body gyrations, which many viewed as vulgar.
In the 1960s, as the hippie counterculture movement built, the Opry maintained a straight-laced, conservative image; "longhairs" were almost never featured on the show. The Byrds were a notable exception. Gram Parsons, one of the pioneers of the country rock genre, had worked with The Byrds on a country album and was allowed to perform with the band at the Ryman in March 1968. Audience response was muted. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ole_Opry)

Election Prayer Alert

2008-10-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

This week in the state of Ohio it is possible to register and obtain an absentee ballot the same day. Essentially, an Ohio resident can register and vote the same day. There have been reports this week of some zealous activists gathering up homeless people and offering them "incentives" to register and vote for Barak Obama. There are also reports of "incentives" being offered to college students as well.

We must join together and pray that the election results are accurate and account for the vote of every legitimate voter. Also, declare that voter fraud is exposed, reported, and prosecuted at every level.

Ohio is a key swing state in this election. In recent history no candidate has occupied the White House without winning Ohio. Pray for citizens in Ohio to let their voices be heard and denounce any criminal activity regarding the election. This democracy is a precious gift, and "we the people" have been charged with gurading it.

Day 19: Election Prayer Focus Mississippi

2008-10-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

Mississippi - The Magnolia State

Motto: By Valor and Arms

Capital/Largest City: Jackson

Leaders

Governor Haley Barbour (R)

Senator Thad Cochran (R)

Senator Trent Lott (R)

1. Travis Childers (D)
2. Bennie Thompson (D)
3. Charles Pickering (R)
4. Gene Taylor (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Mississippi.

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

*Declare Christian media expands in the state of Mississippi.

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

*Declare legislation in Mississippi is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Mississippi.

*Declare strategies come to improve education in Mississippi.

*Declare protection over the people of Mississippi.

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

*Declare Christians in the state of Mississippi get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Mississippi.

First explored for Spain by Hernando de Soto, who discovered the Mississippi River in 1540, the region was later claimed by France. In 1699, a French group under Sieur d'Iberville established the first permanent settlement near present-day Ocean Springs.
Great Britain took over the area in 1763 after the French and Indian Wars, ceding it to the U.S. in 1783 after the Revolution. Spain did not relinquish its claims until 1798, and in 1810 the U.S. annexed West Florida from Spain, including what is now southern Mississippi.
For a little more than one hundred years, from shortly after the state's founding through the Great Depression, cotton was the undisputed king of Mississippi's largely agrarian economy. Over the last half-century, however, Mississippi has diversified its economy by balancing agricultural output with increased industrial activity.
Today, agriculture continues as a major segment of the state's economy. For almost four decades soybeans occupied the most acreage, while cotton remained the largest cash crop. In 2001, however, more acres of cotton were planted than soybeans, and Mississippi jumped to second in the nation in cotton production (exceeded only by Texas). The state's farmlands also yield important harvests of corn, peanuts, pecans, rice, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes as well as poultry, eggs, meat animals, dairy products, feed crops, and horticultural crops. Mississippi remains the world's leading producer of pond-raised catfish. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108232.html)

Until the 1930s, African Americans made up a majority of Mississippians. Due to the Great Migration, when more than 360,000 African Americans left the state during the 1940s and after for better economic opportunities in the northern and western states, Mississippi's African-American population declined. The state has the highest proportion of African Americans in the nation. Recently, the African-American percentage of population has begun to increase due mainly to a higher birth rate than the state average. Due to pattterns of settlement, in many of Mississippi's public school districts, a majority of students are of African descent. African Americans are the majority ethnic group in the northwestern Yazoo Delta, the southwestern and the central parts of the state, chiefly areas where the group owned land as farmers or worked on cotton plantations and farms. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi)

Health
The hot climate and poor nutrition appear to contribute to problems with weight. For three years in a row, more than 30 percent of Mississippi's residents have been classified as obese. In the most recent study (2006), 22.8 percent of the state's children were classified as obese. Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity of any U.S. state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi)

Gay and Lesbian Community
The United States Census in 2000 counted 4,774 same-sex couple households in Mississippi. Of these households, 41% contained at least one child. South Dakota and Utah were the only other states in which 40 percent or more of same-sex couple households had at least one child living in the household. Mississippi also has the largest percentage of African-American same-sex couples among total households. The state capital, Jackson, ranks number 10 in the nation in concentration of African-American same-sex couples. The state also ranks number 5 in the nation in the percentage of Hispanic same-sex couples among all Hispanic households and number 9 in the highest concentration of same-sex couples who are seniors.
In response to a murder and legislation including a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex couples in the state from marrying and adopting children, a statewide gay rights organization was formed in March 2000. Originally called Mississippi Gay Lobby, the organization changed its name in 2001 to the more inclusive Equality Mississippi.
In 2004, Mississippi voters approved a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and prohibiting Mississippi from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries where they may be legal. The amendment passed by a margin of 86% to 14%, the largest margin in any state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi)

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 916,440; the United Methodist Church with 240,576; and the Roman Catholic Church with 115,760. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi)

Education

Until the Civil War era, Mississippi had only a small number of schools and no educational institutions for black people. The first school for black people was established in 1862.
During Reconstruction in 1870, black and white Republicans were the first to establish a system of public education in the state. The state's dependence on agriculture and resistance to taxation limited the funds it had available to spend on any schools. As late as the early 20th century, there were few schools in rural areas. With seed money from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, many rural black communities across Mississippi raised matching funds and contributed public funds to build new schools for their children. Essentially, many black adults taxed themselves twice and made significant sacrifices to raise money for the education of children in their communities.

Blacks and whites attended separate public schools in Mississippi until the 1960s, when they began to be integrated following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional. Population settlement patterns have resulted in many districts that are de facto segregated.
In the late 1980s, the state had 954 public elementary and secondary schools, with a total yearly enrollment of about 369,500 elementary pupils and about 132,500 secondary students. Some 45,700 students attended private schools. In 2004, Mississippi was ranked last among the fifty states in academic achievement by the American Legislative Exchange Council's Report Card on Education, with the lowest average ACT scores and spending per pupil in the nation.
In 2007, Mississippi students scored the lowest of any state on the National Assessments of Educational Progress in both math and science. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi)

Day 18: Election Prayer Focus Alabama

2008-10-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

Alabama - Yellowhammer State

Motto: We dare defend our rights

Capital City: Montgomery

Largest City: Birmingham

Leaders

Governor Bob Riley (R)

Senator Jeff Sessions (R)

Senator Richard C. Shelby (R)
1. Jo Bonner (R)
2. Terry Everett (R)
3. Mike Rogers (R)
4. Robert B. Aderholt (R)
5. Robert E. “Bud” Cramer, Jr. (D)
6. Spencer Bachus (R)
7. Artur Davis (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Alabama.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders in Alabama.

*Declare Christian media expands in Alabama.

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

*Declare prosperity comes to Alabama.

*Declare protection over the people of Alabama.

*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases of Alabama.

*Declare legislation in Alabama is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare Christians in Alabama get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Alabama.

Spanish explorers are believed to have arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519, and the territory was visited in 1540 by the explorer Hernando de Soto. The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702. The British gained control of the area in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris but had to cede almost all the Alabama region to the U.S. and Spain after the American Revolution. The Confederacy was founded at Montgomery in Feb. 1861, and, for a time, the city was the Confederate capital.
During the later 19th century, the economy of the state slowly improved with industrialization. At Tuskegee Institute, founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington, Dr. George Washington Carver carried out his famous agricultural research.

In the 1950s and '60s, Alabama was the site of such landmark civil-rights actions as the bus boycott in Montgomery (1955–56) and the “Freedom March” from Selma to Montgomery (1965).
Today paper, chemicals, rubber and plastics, apparel and textiles, primary metals, and automobile manufacturing constitute the leading industries of Alabama. Continuing as a major manufacturer of coal, iron, and steel, Birmingham is also noted for its world-renowned medical center. The state ranks high in the production of poultry, soybeans, milk, vegetables, livestock, wheat, cattle, cotton, peanuts, fruits, hogs, and corn.

Religion
Alabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt. In a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels. Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a "full understanding" of their faith and needed no further learning. In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state. The Mobile area is notable for its large percentage of Catholics, owing to the area's unique early history under French and Spanish rule. Today, a huge percentage of Alabamians identify themselves as Protestants. The top two largest denominations in the state are the Baptists (40%), Methodists (10%).

Economy

According to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2006 total gross state product was $160 billion, or $29,697 per capita for a ranking of 44th among states. Alabama's GDP increased 3.1% from 2005, placing Alabama number 23 in terms of state level GDP growth. The single largest increase came in the area of durable goods manufacturing. In 1999, per capita income for the state was $18,189.
Alabama's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Although known as "The Cotton State", Alabama ranks between eight and ten in national cotton production, according to various reports, with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three.
Alabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel. Also, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, which is home of the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the US Army Missile Command, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama)

Politics

The current governor of the state is Republican Bob Riley. The lieutenant governor is Jim Folsom Jr. The Democratic Party currently holds a large majority in both houses of the Legislature. Due to the Legislature's power to override a gubernatorial veto by a mere simple majority (most state Legislatures require a 2/3 majority to override a veto), the relationship between the executive and legislative branches can be easily strained when different parties control the branches.
During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition known as the Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the African American vote through intimidation and terrorism. White supremacy was re-established.
After 1890, a coalition of whites passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise black residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disfranchised African Americans also disfranchised poor whites, however. By 1941 more whites than blacks had been disfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000, although the impact was greater on the African-American community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised.
From 1901 to the 1960s, the state legislature failed to perform redistricting as population grew and shifted within the state. The result was a rural minority that dominated state politics until a series of court cases required redistricting in 1972.
With the disfranchisement of African Americans, the state became part of the "Solid South", a one-party system in which the Democratic Party became essentially the only political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally only token Republican challengers running in the General Election.
In the 1986 Democratic primary election, the then-incumbent Lieutenant Governor lost the Democratic nomination for Governor. The state Democratic party invalidated the election and placed the Lieutenant Governor's name on the ballot as the Democratic candidate instead of the candidate chosen in the primary. The voters of the state revolted at what they perceived as disenfranchisement of their right to vote and elected the Republican challenger Guy Hunt as Governor. This was the first Republican Governor elected in Alabama since Reconstruction. Since then, Republicans have been increasingly elected to state offices until in 2006 Democrats were barely holding a majority in the state legislature. Since 1986, only one Democrat, Don Siegelman, has managed to win the Governor's office. A corruption probe and eventual trial, the timing of which coincided with the 2006 state primary, relegated Siegelman to one term. Today, the state is mainly Republican.
Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the American Civil Rights Movement, when majority whites bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform. George Wallace, the state's governor, remains a notorious and controversial figure. Only with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain suffrage and other civil rights.
In 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the Alabama State Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama)

Day 17: Election Prayer Focus Florida

2008-09-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Florida - The Sunshine State

Motto: In God We Trust

Capital City: Tallahassee

Largest City: Jacksonville

Florida is a key swing state and the election results from this state have decided the last two Presidential elections.

Leaders

Governor Charlie Crist (R)

Senator Mel Martinez (R)

Senator Bill Nelson (D)

1. Jeff Miller (R)
2. Allen Boyd (D)
3. Corrine Brown (D)
4. Ander Crenshaw (R)
5. Virginia Brown-Waite (R)
6. Cliff Stearns (R)
7. John L. Mica (R)
8. Ric Keller (R)
9. Michael “Gus” Bilirakis (R)
10. C. W. Bill Young (R)
11. Kathy Castor (D)
12. Adam Putnam (R)
13. Vern Buchanan (R)
14. Connie Mack (R)
15. Dave Weldon (R)
16. Tim Mahoney (D)
17. Kendrick Meek (D)
18. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R)
19. Robert Wexler (D)
20. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)
21. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R)
22. Ron Klein (D)
23. Alcee L. Hastings (D)
24. Tom Feeney (R)
25. Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

Our national leaders find themselves poised to make history. Many are faced with a "legacy vote" that may determine their political futures. We must pray that our leaders walk in great wisdom and possess the courage to do what is right and not just what is popular. Call forth God's remedy for the financial ills of our nation. Declare that our leaders are granted a spirit of revelation and have insight into God's ways for our nation. Declare that their spiritual eyes are flooded with light and they know what to do in every situation that faces our nation. Declare they are filled with the knowledge of God's will and make wise decisions. Declare that the Word of God is the final authority for our nation and every decision that is made lines up with it. Declare that our leaders will not disregard the peace of God in helping them to make decisions; the peace of God will rule (umpire) in their hearts. Declare that the Holy Spirit will guide our leaders into all truth. Dispell all fear over our nation which would cause our leaders or our citizens to make rash decisions. Declare that we the people are open and submitted to God's plan for our nation and our leaders have the wisdom to discern and implement His plan.

Prayer Points

*Declare that revival continues in the state of Florida.

*Declare that the good work God has begun in the state of Florida continues and spreads across this nation.

*Declare signs and wonders continue to follow the preaching of the Word in Florida.

*Declare Christian leaders receive divine strategy to evangelize.

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

*Declare prosperity over the state of Florida.

*Declare our leaders at NASA continue to lead the world in cutting-edge technology and space exploration.

*Declare safety and mission success over our astronauts.

*Declare protection over the people of Florida.

*Declare protection over the miles of Flordia coastline from attack or natural disaster.

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

*Declare legislation in the state of Florida is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare Christians in the state of Florida get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in the state of Florida and an end to the confusion in vote tabulation.

In 1513, Ponce de León, seeking the mythical “Fountain of Youth,” discovered and named Florida, claiming it for Spain. Later, Florida would be held at different times by Spain and England until Spain finally sold it to the United States in 1819. (Incidentally, France established a colony named Fort Caroline in 1564 in the state that was to become Florida.)
Florida's history in the early 19th century was marked by wars with the Seminole Indians, which did not end until 1842.
Florida's economy rests on a solid base of tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture. Leading the manufacturing sector are electrical equipment and electronics, printing and publishing, transportation equipment, food processing, and machinery. Oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits lead Florida's agricultural products list, followed by potatoes, melons, strawberries, sugar cane, peanuts, dairy products, and cattle.
Major tourist attractions are Miami Beach, Palm Beach, St. Augustine (founded in 1565, thus the oldest permanent city in the U.S.), Daytona Beach, and Fort Lauderdale on the East Coast; Sarasota, Tampa, and St. Petersburg on the West Coast; and Key West off the southern tip of Florida. The Orlando area, where Disney World is located on a 27,000-acre site, is Florida's most popular tourist destination. Also drawing many visitors are the NASA Kennedy Space Center's Spaceport USA, Everglades National Park, and the Epcot Center. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108198.html)

Florida is the fourth most populous state in the U.S.

As of 2000, 76.91 percent of Florida residents age 5 and older spoke only English at home as a first language, while 16.46 percent spoke Spanish, and French-based creole languages (predominantly Haitian Creole) was spoken by 1.38 percent of the population. French was spoken by 0.83 percent, followed by German at 0.59 percent, and Italian at 0.44 percent of all residents. Florida's climate makes it a popular state for immigrants. Florida's public education system identifies over 200 first languages other than English spoken in the homes of students. In 1990, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) won a class action lawsuit against the state Department of Education that required educators to be trained in teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
Article II, Section 9, of the Florida Constitution provides that "English is the official language of the State of Florida." This provision was adopted in 1988 by a vote following an Initiative Petition. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida)

Religion
Florida is mostly Protestant, but Roman Catholicism is the single largest denomination in the state. There is also a sizable Jewish community, located mainly in South Florida; no other Southern state has such a large Jewish population. Florida's current religious affiliations are shown in the table below:
Roman Catholic, 26%
Protestant, 40%
Baptist, 9%
Methodist, 6%
Pentecostal, 3%
Jewish, 3%
Muslim, 1%
other religions, 2%
non-religious, 16%

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida)

We must pray for our nations future leaders who are currently being educated in the state of Florida. Florida is home to 11 public universities, 28 community colleges, and 28 private universities. Hundreds of thousands of college student now reside in the state of Florida.

We also must pray for the evangelizing of the many senior citizens who make Flordia their home for at least part of the year.

Weather

Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State", but severe weather is a common occurrence in the state. Central Florida is known as the lightning capital of the United States, as it experiences more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country. Florida has the highest average precipitation of any state, in large part because afternoon thunderstorms are common in most of the state from late spring until early autumn. A fair day may be interrupted with a storm, only to return to sunshine. These thunderstorms, caused by collisions between airflow from the Gulf of Mexico and airflow from the Atlantic Ocean, pop up in the early afternoon and can bring heavy downpours, high winds, and sometimes tornadoes. Florida leads the United States in tornadoes per square mile (when including waterspouts but these tornadoes do not typically reach the intensity of those in the Midwest and Great Plains. Hail often accompanies the most severe thunderstorms.
Snow in Florida is a rare occurrence. During the Great Blizzard of 1899, Florida experienced blizzard conditions; the Tampa Bay area had "gulf-effect" snow, similar to lake-effect snow. The Great Blizzard of 1899 is the only time the temperature in the state is known to have fallen below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (−18 °C). The most widespread snowfall in Florida history happened on January 19, 1977, when snow fell over much of the state, as far south as Homestead. Snow flurries fell on Miami Beach for the only time in recorded history. A hard freeze in 2003 brought "ocean-effect" snow flurries to the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Canaveral.
The 1993 Superstorm brought blizzard conditions to the panhandle, while heavy rain and tornadoes beset the peninsula. The storm is believed to have been similar in composition to a hurricane, and even brought storm surges of six feet or more to regions of the Gulf coast.
Although some storms have formed out of season, tropical cyclones pose a severe threat during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. Florida is the most hurricane-prone US state, with subtropical or tropical water on three sides and a lengthy coastline. It is rare for a hurricane season to pass without any impact in the state by at least a tropical storm. August to October is the most likely period for a hurricane in Florida.

Hurricane Andrew bearing down on Florida on August 23, 1992.
In 2004, Florida was hit by a record four hurricanes. Hurricanes Charley (August 13), Frances (September 4 – 5), Ivan (September 16), and Jeanne (September 25 – 26) cumulatively cost the state's economy US$42 billion. In 2005, Hurricane Dennis (July 10) became the fifth storm to strike Florida within eleven months. Later, Hurricane Katrina (August 25) passed through South Florida and Hurricane Rita (September 20) swept through the Florida Keys. Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Florida in the early morning of October 24 as a Category 3 hurricane, with the storm's eye hitting near Cape Romano, just south of Marco Island, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Florida was the site of the second costliest weather disaster in U.S. history, Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than US$25 billion in damage when it struck on August 24, 1992. In a long list of other infamous hurricane strikes are the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Donna in 1960, and Hurricane Opal in 1995. Recent research suggests the storms are part of a natural cycle and not a result of Global Warming. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida)

Day 16: Election Prayer Focus Georgia

2008-09-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

Georgia - The Peach State

Motto: Wisdom, Justice and Moderation

Capital/Largest City: Atlanta

Leaders

Governor Sonny Purdue (R)

Senator Saxby Chambliss (R)

Senator Johnny Isakson (R)

1. Jack Kingston (R)
2. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D)
3. Lynn Westmoreland (R)
4. Hank Johnson (D)
5. John Lewis (D)
6. Tom Price (R)
7. John Linder (R)
8. Jim Marshall (D)
9. Nathan Deal (R)
10. Paul C. Broun (R)
11. Phil Gingrey (R)
12. John Barrow (D)
13. David Scott (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to Georgia.

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

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders in Georgia.

*Declare an end to the gasoline shortage in Georgia

*Declare the economy of Georgia prospers.

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

*Declare the major media outlets in Georgia speak the truth and are held accountable to the truth by the people.

*Declare legislation passed in Georgia is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare the people of Georgia get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Georgia.

*Declare protection over the people of Georgia.

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

Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer, first traveled parts of Georgia in 1540. British claims later conflicted with those of Spain. After obtaining a royal charter, Gen. James Oglethorpe established the first permanent settlement in Georgia in 1733 as a refuge for English debtors. In 1742, Oglethorpe defeated Spanish invaders in the Battle of Bloody Marsh.
A Confederate stronghold, Georgia was the scene of extensive military action during the Civil War. Union general William T. Sherman burned Atlanta and destroyed a 60-mile-wide path to the coast, where he captured Savannah in 1864.
The largest state in the southeast, Georgia is typical of the changing South with an ever-increasing industrial development. Atlanta, largest city in the state, is the communications and transportation center for the Southeast and the area's chief distributor of goods.
Georgia leads the nation in the production of paper and board, tufted textile products, and processed chicken. Other major manufactured products are transportation equipment, food products, apparel, and chemicals.
Important agricultural products are corn, cotton, tobacco, soybeans, eggs, and peaches. Georgia produces twice as many peanuts as the next leading state. From its vast stands of pine come more than half of the world's resins and turpentine and 74.4 percent of the U.S. supply. Georgia is a leader in the production of marble, kaolin, barite, and bauxite.

(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108201.html)

Agriculture and industry
Georgia's agricultural outputs are poultry and eggs, pecans, peaches, peanuts, rye, cattle, hogs, dairy products, turfgrass, tobacco, and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are textiles and apparel, transportation equipment, cigarettes, food processing, paper products, chemical products, electric equipment. Tourism also makes an important contribution to the economy. Georgia is home to the Granite Capital of the World (Elberton). Atlanta has been the site of enormous growth in real estate, service, and communications industries.
Atlanta has a very large effect on the state of Georgia and the Southeastern United States. The city is an ever growing addition to communications, industry, transportation, tourism, and government. Food is also a major industry in Georgia.
Industry in Georgia is now quite diverse. Major products in the mineral and timber industry include a variety of pines, clays, stones, and sands. Textile industry is located around the cities of Rome, Columbus, Augusta, and Macon. Atlanta is a leading center of tourism, transportation, communications, government, and industry. Some industries there include automobile and aircraft manufacturing, food and chemical processing, printing, publishing, and large corporations. Some of the corporations headquartered in Atlanta are: Arby's, Chick-fil-A, The Coca-Cola Company, Georgia Pacific, Hooters, ING Americas, Cox, and Delta Air Lines. Major corporations in other parts of the state include: Aflac, CareSouth, Home Depot, Newell Rubbermaid, Primerica Financial Services, United Parcel Service, Waffle House and Zaxby's.
Several United States military installations are located in Georgia including Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Fort Benning, Moody Air Force Base, Robins Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Atlanta, Fort McPherson, Fort Gillem, Fort Gordon, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah and Coast Guard Station Brunswick. However, due to the latest round of BRAC cuts, Forts Gillem and McPherson will be closing and NAS Atlanta will be transferred to the Georgia National Guard. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29)

Like most other Southern states, Georgia is largely Protestant Christian. The religious affiliations of the people of Georgia are as follows:
Protestant: 70%
Baptist: 26%
Methodist: 12%
Presbyterian: 3%
Pentecostal: 3%
Roman Catholic: 12%
Other: 3%
Non-religious: 13%
Georgia shares its Protestant heritage with much of the Southeastern United States. However, the number of Roman Catholics is growing in the state because of the influx of Northeasterners resettling in the Atlanta metro area and also because of large Hispanic immigration into the state.
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 1,719,484; the United Methodist Church with 570,674; and the Roman Catholic Church with 374,185.
Georgia's Jewish community dates to the settlement of 42 mostly Sephardic Portuguese Jews in Savannah in 1733. Atlanta also has a large and established Jewish community. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29)

Politics

Until recently, Georgia's state government had the longest unbroken record of single-party dominance of any state in the Union. This record was established partly by disfranchisement of most blacks and many poor whites in the early 20th century, lasting into the 1960s.
After Reconstruction, white Democrats regained power, especially by legal disfranchisement of most African Americans and many poor whites through erection of barriers to voter registration. In 1900, shortly before Georgia adopted a disfranchising constitutional amendment in 1908, blacks comprised 47% of the state's population. A "clean" franchise was linked by Progressives to electoral reform. White, one-party rule was solidified. To escape the oppression, tens of thousands of black Georgians left the state, going north in the Great Migration for jobs, better education for their children and the chance to vote.
For over 130 years, from 1872 to 2003, Georgians only elected white Democratic governors, and white Democrats held the majority of seats in the General Assembly. Most of the Democrats elected throughout these years were Southern Democrats or Dixiecrats who were very conservative by national standards. This continued after the segregationist period, which ended legally in the 1960s. According to the 1960 census, the proportion of Georgia's population that was African American had decreased to 28%. After civil rights legislation under President Johnson secured voting and civil rights in the mid-1960s, most African Americans in the South joined the Democratic Party.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Georgia made significant changes in civil rights, governance, and economic growth focused on Atlanta. It was a bedrock of the emerging "New South." This characterization was solidified with the election of former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in 1976 to the U.S. Presidency.
The political dominance of Democrats ended in 2003, when then-Governor Roy Barnes was defeated by Republican Sonny Perdue, a state legislator and former Democrat himself. It was regarded as a stunning upset. While Democrats retained control of the State House, they lost their majority in the Senate when four Democrats switched parties. They lost the House in the 2004 election. Republicans now control all three partisan elements of the state government.
In recent years, many conservative Democrats, including former U.S. Senator and governor Zell Miller, have decided to support Republicans. The state's socially conservative bent results in wide support for such measures as restrictions on abortion. Even before 2003, the state had become increasingly supportive of Republicans in Presidential elections. It has supported a Democrat for president only three times since 1960. In 1976 and 1980, native son Jimmy Carter carried the state; in 1992, the former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton narrowly won the state. Generally, Republicans are strongest in the predominantly white suburban (especially the Atlanta suburbs) and rural portions of the state. Many of these areas were represented by conservative Democrats in the state legislature well into the 21st century. Democrats do best in the areas where black voters are most numerous, mostly in the cities (especially Atlanta) and the rural Black Belt region that travels through the central and southwestern portion of the state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29)

Television

Georgia is home to Ted Turner, who founded TBS, TNT, TCM, Cartoon Network, CNN and Headline News, among others. The CNN Center, which houses the news channel's world headquarters, is located in downtown Atlanta, facing Marietta Street, while the home offices of the Turner Entertainment networks are located in midtown, near the Georgia Tech campus, on Techwood Drive. A third Turner building is on Williams Street, directly across Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 from the Techwood Drive campus and is the home of Adult Swim and Williams Street Studios.
The Weather Channel's headquarters are located in the Smyrna area of metropolitan Atlanta in Cobb County.
WSB-TV was the state's first television station, and the southeastern United States' second. WSB-TV signed on Channel 8 in 1948, and moved to its present day location on Channel 2 in 1952. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29)

Day 15: Election Prayer Focus South Carolina

2008-09-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

South Carolina - Palmetto State

Motto: Prepared in mind and resources.

While I breathe, I hope.

Capital/Largest City: Columbia

Leaders

Governor Mark Sanford (R)

Senator Jim DeMint (R)

Senator Lindsey Graham (R)

1. Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R)
2. Joe Wilson (R)
3. J. Gresham Barrett (R)
4. Bob Inglis (R)
5. John M. Spratt (D)
6. James E. Clyburn (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare that revival comes to South Carolina.

*Declare that signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in South Carolina.

*Declare divine strategies be released to Christian leaders in South Carolina.

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

*Declare prosperity comes to South Carolina.

*Declare business opportunities increase in South Carolina.

*Declare that legislation passed in South Carolina is in agreement with the Word of God.

*Declare the people of South Carolina get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in South Carolina.

*Declare an end to the gasoline shortage in South Carolina.

*Declare protection over the state of South Carolina.

*Declare protection over the South Carolina National Guard, military personnel, and military bases.

Following exploration of the coast in 1521 by Francisco de Gordillo, the Spanish tried unsuccessfully to establish a colony near present-day Georgetown in 1526, and the French also failed to colonize Parris Island near Fort Royal in 1562. The first English settlement was made in 1670 at Albemarle Point on the Ashley River, but poor conditions drove the settlers to the site of Charleston (originally called Charles Town).
South Carolina, officially separated from North Carolina in 1729, was the scene of extensive military action during the Revolution and again during the Civil War. The Civil War began in 1861 as South Carolina troops fired on federal Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and the state was the first to secede from the Union.
Once primarily agricultural, South Carolina today has many large textile and other mills that produce several times the output of its farms in cash value. Charleston makes asbestos, wood, pulp, steel products, chemicals, machinery, and apparel.
Farms have become fewer but larger in recent years. South Carolina ranks third in peach production; it ranks fourth in overall tobacco production. Other top agricultural commodities include nursery and greenhouse products, watermelons, peanuts, broilers and turkeys, and cattle and calves. The only commercial tea plantation in America is 20 mi south of Charleston on Wadmalaw Island. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108268.html)

Early in the 20th century, South Carolina developed a thriving textile industry. By 2007, textile employment had dropped significantly. The state also converted its agricultural base from cotton to more profitable crops, attracted large military bases, created tourism industries and, most recently, attracted European manufacturers.

Religion
South Carolina, like most other Southern states, has a Protestant Christian majority, and a lower percentage of non-religious people than the national average. The religious affiliations of the people of South Carolina are as follows:
Christian: 92%
Protestant: 84%
Southern Baptist: 45%
Methodist: 15%
Presbyterian: 5%
Other Protestant: 19%
Roman Catholic: 7%
Other Christian: 1%
Other Religions: 1%
Non-Religious: 7%
Sephardic Jews have lived in the state for more than 300 years, especially in and around Charleston. Until about 1830, South Carolina had the largest population of Jews in North America. Many of South Carolina's Jews have assimilated into Christian society, shrinking Judaism down to less than 1% of the total religious makeup. In addition, Roman Catholicism is growing in South Carolina due to immigration from the North.

South Carolina Singularities
Adjutant general: The head of the state's national guard, the adjutant general, is a statewide elected official.
Driving Under the Influence: South Carolina is the only state in the nation with mandatory videotaping by the arresting officer of the DUI arrest and breath test.
Fire Safety Regulations: South Carolina is the only state that allows fire officials to sidestep a federal regulation requiring that for every employee doing hazardous work inside a building, one must be outside.
School Buses: South Carolina is the only state in the nation that owns and operates its own school bus fleet.
Strokes: South Carolina has the highest rate of stroke deaths in the nation.
Black Water River: With the Edisto River, South Carolina has the longest completely undammed / unleveed blackwater river in North America.
Outdoor Sculpture: South Carolina is home to the world's largest collection of outdoor sculpture located at Brookgreen Gardens.
Landscaped Gardens: South Carolina is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States, at Middleton Place near Charleston.

Day 14: Election Prayer Focus North Carolina

2008-09-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

North Carolina - The Tar Heel State

Motto: To Be Rather Than To Seem

Capital City: Raleigh

Largest City: Charlotte

Leaders

Governor Mike Easley (D)

Senator Richard Burr (R)

Senator Elizabeth Dole (R)

1. G. K. Butterfield (D)
2. Bob Etheridge (D)
3. Walter Jones (R)
4. David E. Price (D)
5. Virginia Foxx (R)
6. Howard Coble (R)
7. Mike McIntyre (D)
8. Robin Hayes (R)
9. Sue Myrick (R)
10. Patrick McHenry (R)
11. Heath Shuler (D)
12. Melvin L. Watt (D)
13. Brad Miller (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare that revival comes to North Carolina.

*Declare that North Carolina opens to Christian media.

*Declare that signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in North Carolina.

*Declare tht Christian leaders receive divine strategies to reach the people of North Carolina.

*Declare the economy of North Carolina prospers.

*Declare that gasoline supplies are brought into North Carolina and the shortage is ended.

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

*Declare that legislation passed in North Carolina is in accordance with the Word of God.

*Declare that Christians in North Carolina get out and vote.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in North Carolina.

*Declare the people of North Carolina are protected.

*Declare protection over the coastline and miliarty bases in North Carolina.

*Declare protection over the National Guard an military personnel of North Carolina.

History and Facts

English colonists, sent by Sir Walter Raleigh, unsuccessfully attempted to settle Roanoke Island in 1585 and 1587. Virginia Dare, born there in 1587, was the first child of English parentage born in America.
In 1653 the first permanent settlements were established by English colonists from Virginia near the Roanoke and Chowan rivers. The region was established as an English proprietary colony in 1663–1665 and in its early history was the scene of Culpepper's Rebellion (1677), the Quaker-led Cary Rebellion (1708), the Tuscarora Indian War (1711–1713), and many pirate raids.
During the American Revolution, there was relatively little fighting within the state, but many North Carolinians saw action elsewhere. Despite considerable pro-Union, antislavery sentiment, North Carolina joined the Confederacy during the Civil War.
North Carolina is the nation's largest furniture, tobacco, brick, and textile producer. Metalworking, chemicals, and paper are also important industries. The major agricultural products are tobacco, corn, cotton, hay, peanuts, and vegetable crops. The state is the country's leading producer of mica and lithium.
Tourism is also important, with visitors spending more than $1 billion annually. Sports include year-round golfing, skiing at mountain resorts, both fresh- and salt-water fishing, and hunting.
Among the major attractions are the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge National Parkway, the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores, the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, Guilford Courthouse and Moores Creek National Military Parks, Carl Sandburg's home near Hendersonville, and the Old Salem Restoration in Winston-Salem.

(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108254.html)

On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was the last of the Confederate states to secede from the Union. It was readmitted on July 4, 1868. The state was the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of July 1, 2007, the population was estimated to be 9,061,032 (a 12% increase since April 1, 2000). Recognizing eight Native American tribes, North Carolina has the largest population of American Indians of any state east of the Mississippi.

Religion
North Carolina, like other Southern states, has traditionally been overwhelmingly Protestant. By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination was the Southern Baptists. However, the rapid influx of northerners and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing the number of Roman Catholics and Jews in the state. Yet, the numerical dominance of the Baptist Church remains strong.
In many rural counties the Southern Baptists remain the dominant Christian church. The second-largest Protestant church in North Carolina are the Methodists, who are strong in the northern Piedmont, and especially in populous Guilford County. There are also substantial numbers of Quakers in Guilford County, and northeastern North Carolina.
The Presbyterian, historically Scots-Irish, have had a strong presence in Charlotte, the state's largest city, and in Scotland County. The current religious affiliations of the people of North Carolina are shown below:
Christian: 80%
Protestant: 59%
Baptist: 38%
Methodist: 9%
Presbyterian: 3%
Other Protestant: 9%
Roman Catholic: 10%
Other Christian such as Non-denominational and Mormon Church: 11%
Judaism: 1%
Other religions: 9%
Unaffiliated, non-religious and others: 10%

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina)

Economy

Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, continues to experience rapid growth, in large part due to the banking & finance industry. Charlotte is now the second largest banking center in the United States (after New York), and is home to Bank of America and Wachovia. The Charlotte metro area is also home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies.
BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust), one of America's largest banks, was founded in Wilson, NC in 1872. Today, BB&T's headquarters is in Winston-Salem, although some operations still take place in Wilson.
The information and biotechnology industries have been steadily on the rise since the creation of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the 1950s. Located between Raleigh and Durham (mostly in Durham County), its proximity to local research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth.

North Carolina remains a control state. This is probably due to the state's strongly conservative Protestant heritage. Four of the state's counties - Clay, Graham, Mitchell, and Yancey, which are all located in rural areas - remain "dry" (the sale of alcoholic beverages is illegal). However, the remaining 96 North Carolina counties allow the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, as is the case in most of the United States. Even in rural areas, the opposition to selling and drinking alcoholic beverages is declining, as the decreasing number of "dry" counties indicates.
North Carolina is one of the 12 states to decriminalize marijuana. In 1997 Marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinols were moved from a schedule I to schedule IV . Transfer of less than 5 grams is not considered sale, and up to 1 1/2 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or community service, at the judge's discretion, rather than imprisonment or a felony charge.

Food

A nationally-famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue. However, there are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and method of preparation used in making the barbecue. Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus using both white and dark meat. The "capital" of eastern Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Wilson, near Raleigh. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a ketchup-based sauce and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. The "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Lexington, south of Winston-Salem. A third type of pork barbecue, using a sauce which is a combination of ketchup and vinegar, is "Shelby" barbecue which is made in the town of Shelby.
North Carolina is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, first produced in 1890 in New Bern. Regional soft drinks created and still based in the state are Sun Drop and Cheerwine. Krispy Kreme, a popular chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in Winston-Salem. Despite its name, the hot sauce Texas Pete was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The Hardees fast-food chain was started in Rocky Mount. Another fast-food chain, Bojangles', was started in Charlotte, and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is Golden Corral. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in Fayetteville. Popular pickle brand Mount Olive Pickle Company was founded in Mount Olive in 1926. Cook Out, a popular fast food chain featuring burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, was founded in Greensboro in 1989 and operates exclusively in North Carolina. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina)

Confessing the Word of God Over Our Nation

2008-09-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

We are facing a critical time in our nation at this moment regarding our financial markets and ultimately our soveriegnty and security. It is critical that "We the People" make our voices heard, not only to our representatives in Washington, but in the heavenlies. We have been given dominion in the earth to follow the example of our Heavenly Father to speak those things that be not as though there already were.

We must take our rightful place of authority and clearly speak the promises of God over our nation. It is our duty as citizens to pray for our leaders during this crucial hour of decision making. Please join me in praying for our nation and our leaders. I have included a confession I make daily during my time of confessing the Word. I found this confession on the Creflo Dollar Ministry site. This site is a great resource for daily devotions and Word confessions. (http://www.creflodollarministries.org/Public/Bible/Daily-Confessions.aspx)

In the name of Jesus, I declare that this nation is blessed of the Lord, and no weapon formed against these United States shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

This country is filled with people who pray and seek God's face. As such, His eyes and ears are attuned to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7:15).

Because unseen, angelic forces are working on behalf of this country, we will be victorious over our enemies (2 Kings 6:16-17).

There is no division among the citizens of this country. We form a united front by praying for our leaders daily (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

I declare that the plans for acts of terrorism are revealed to those who provide our national security (Daniel 11:25).

I am not afraid to travel, because God preserves my going out and my coming in. I carry out my daily affairs secure in the knowledge that I am more than a conqueror (Psalm 121:8; Romans 8:37).

As the righteousness of God, I have authority over my enemies, and nothing will harm me (Luke 10:19).

According to Proverbs 18:21, my words have creative ability; in the name of Jesus, I have what I say. I release most holy faith to bring these things to pass.