Opening Prayer of the Kansas Senate January 23, 1996 By Senior Pastor Joe Wright Central Christian Church Wichita, Kansas When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate with prayer, everyone was expecting the usual generalities. Instead, what they heard follows: Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it mulitculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem; We have abused power and called it politics; We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will. I ask in the name of Your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks Central Christian Church logged more than 5,000 phone calls, with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on "The Rest of the Story" on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other program he has ever aired. In addition, Central Christian Church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer. "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7: 14 (NKJV)