Pastor Jack Hibbs gave a powerful prayer before Congress.
It generated the outrage of Democrat lawmakers [see below] and radical secular anti-Christian groups.
Pastor Jack was given a strict set of rules to follow—rules on what to say and what not to say, including… not mentioning Jesus…
So, Pastor Jack practiced “Christian disobedience.”
God told Christians to preach the gospel, so they defied orders to keep quiet about Jesus (Acts 4:19-20):
“19: But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
20: For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Jack did what was right in the sight of God, not man.
Here are 5 things you should know, including what he said that created a whirlwind of opposition from the radical socialists.
1) The invitation: an honor
It’s an honor to be chosen to pray before the House of Representatives. One is given before each session.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson personally invited Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills, to give the opening session prayer for the House on January 30th, 2024.
But he gave it to honor God, not the government or man. And that’s what got them so mad… He honored God instead of worshiping at the altar of government.
2) The rules Jack disobeyed
Jack saw that in recent years, incredible restrictions were placed on what the prayer could be, what was said, and time limitations.
Everyone should have approved of the prepared remarks Jack had. But Jack had a conviction that he could not compromise the prayer.
For example, one of the rules is not to mention the name of Jesus.
Can you imagine any Pastor standing up, not mentioning Jesus, or proclaiming who he is?
3) What Jack said
Here is the short prayer that caused the controversy:
“Almighty God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, together we come before You in humility as a people in need of Your forgiveness, Your mercy, Your goodness, and Your grace.
For these 250 or so years, our fathers in this Congress have prayed guidance and protection. We stand here in humble petition that You today might do the same, that this Nation and its unparalleled Constitution––Your great gift to all freedom loving people––might be renewed here and across this land as a beacon of hope to all who seek peace.
I ask You today, Father, to bring to us a great awakening of righteousness and confidence in You who alone are mighty to save.
Hear my cry in this hour of great need that we might be humbly blessed before You in repentance of our national sins.
You, Almighty God, are the source of all wisdom, and there is no wisdom but that which comes from You.
So please come upon those here who are the stewards over the business of our Nation with Your wisdom which comes from above and with Your holy fear knowing that Your coming day of judgment draws near when all who have been and are now in authority will answer to You, the great judge of heaven and of Earth.
For the decisions that they make here in this place, I offer this prayer to You, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, and our crucified Savior and resurrected Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
To see the video of Pastor Hibbs’ entire prayer, click the link below]
4) The Congressional reaction of anger and hate
A group of angry Congressmen sent a detailed Congressional letter of protest. It was long and quite detailed. Here are a few highlights:
- “Pastor Hibbs is a radical Christian Nationalist who helped fuel the January 6th insurrection and has a long record of spewing hateful vitriol toward non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community. He should never have been granted the right to deliver the House’s opening prayer on January 30, 2024.”
- “When his opening prayer invoked ‘holy fear’ and ‘repentance’ for ‘national sins,’ these were allusions to the militant and fanatical agenda he preaches about the LGBTQ+ community, Jews, Muslims, and anyone who conflicts with his ‘biblical worldview.’”
- “He launched a nationwide campaign to require schools to out transgender students in order to defeat ‘demonic and dark satanic powers.’”
- “He also recently argued that the Israel-Hamas war is another sign of the End Times and that Jewish people must save themselves by turning to Jesus; if they do, he urges Christians to ‘look past the sins of Israel and the sins of the Jew and give them the hope of Jesus.’”
- “Hibbs also embraces the false and exclusionary Christian nationalist narrative that the United States was established as a ‘Christian nation,’ and he has repeatedly flouted separation of church and state by working to institutionalize Christian prayer and bible readings at local school board meetings, among other things.”
- “It appears that Speaker Johnson – with the tacit approval of the House Chaplain – decided to flout the Chaplaincy guidelines and use the platform of the Guest Chaplain to lend the imprimatur of Congress to an ill-qualified hate preacher who shares the Speaker’s Christian nationalist agenda and his overriding antipathy toward church-state separation.”
The letter was written by 26 Democrat members, including radical Congressmen Jamie Raskin, Jerrold Nadler, Dan Goldman, Ilhan Omar, and 2 California US Senate candidates, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.
5) The petition against Jack
A number of groups have screamed and created petitions against Jack’s prayer and appearance. One of the biggest is often called a Christian group by the media, who falsely claim that Christians were signing the petition against Pastor Jack Hibbs.
The group is called Faithful America. We’ve written about the group before. It’s a radical social justice group that has progressive Christians, Muslims, Jews, and occult groups.
At this time, close to 20,000 have signed the petition.
The petition condemns Johnson’s support of Hibbs and calls on the Speaker to “stop manipulating the Guest Chaplain program to uplift divisive and hateful figures, and to commit to following the rules of the program moving forward — including those that require attention to religious diversity and inclusion and a focus on justice and peace.”
The bottom line is that Pastor Jack did what was right.
And the reaction against him has been horrific.
But those opposed to the prayer meant it for evil against Jack… It is furthering the gospel.
Jack displayed what America needs—People not afraid to speak up for the truth to have voices for the gospel that have courage and boldness.
Action Steps:
1) Click HERE for the video of Pastor Jack Hibbs’ Prayer Before Congress.
2) Please pray for Pastor Jack.
3) I encourage you to buy Pastor Hibbs’ new book, Living in the Daze of Deception: How to Discern Truth from Culture’s Lies. Click HERE to order
4) Contact Congressman Mike Johnson. You can contact him HERE and thank him for inviting Pastor Jack to speak.
or contact him by mail or phone at:
The Honorable Mike Johnson
568 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC, 20515-1804
Phone: (202) 225-2777
5) Watch my podcast with Pastor Jack, which I will post shortly.
6) Get my new book, The Great Deception: 10 Shocking Dangers and the Blueprint for Rescuing the American Dream.
The Great Deception exposes lies, myths, and distortions from the media and politicians. In Chapter 10: Danger #9: The War on Christianity, I describe what is happening to Christians in America today—how they are persecuted and how the Biden administration has weaponized the DOJ, FBI, and other agencies against Christians, and how to turn things around.
The book allows you to share these dangers and a solution to cutting through the deception with friends and family.
It exposes under-the-radar and little-known behind-the-scenes reasons America is falling backward and how to make it move again.
Click here to get The Great Deception – Craig Huey
You can order the book on Amazon here.
Or you can get an autographed edition by ordering online here or by phone at 615-814-6633.
You can also send a check for $26.13 (including shipping) payable to Turn America Around Fund and send it to this address:
Media Specialists
1313 4th Ave N
Nashville, TN 37208