On May 17th, thousands watched as America was rededicated to the Lord. At the beginning of the year, IFA had an initiative called America’s Spiritual Heritage Project (ASHP), in which intercessors gathered to rededicate either their state capitols or their states to the Lord. Although May 17th has passed, many states are still holding rededication ceremonies. Here is an encouraging story from Tennessee State Leader Vaughn Cassidy.
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On May 23rd, Tennessee intercessors gathered outdoors in the amphitheater of the Bicentennial State Park Mall in Nashville, TN, to rededicate their state. Even though it rained the entire time, they were not deterred. They met, they recounted, rededicated, and reclaimed their state. “The amphitheater is half-circular, with upward steps and concrete seats. Towards the base is a stage, and in the background, the state capitol building is visible. It looks beautiful and very scenic,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn said when he received the itinerary from IFA Regional Director Lisa Townsend, he felt nervous at first. “I’ve done a ton of workshops and webinars, but I had never done anything like this.” The whole itinerary is just laid out; it’s just right: recount, reclaim, and rededicate. One of our intercessors, June Griffin, a strong Christian woman and longtime political activist, read aloud from a portion of legislation that was proposed 12 years ago and even implemented by Mark Pody, a Tennessee senator whom we had invited.
Carlotta McKee from the Nashville area, who is part of our IFA group, wanted to sing. She sang This Is My Father’s World.
We had a gentleman named Harry Grothjahn, who owns Truth Radio, the most popular station in Knoxville, provide a prayer and some historical context. I’m holding the umbrella over Harry, and I don’t have an umbrella, and I’m getting soaked, and Mr. Ed Bjustrom held the umbrella over me. That was nice, and then we had a little bit of sun pop out.
Monty Fritts, District 32 Representative, spoke and read the IFA rededication proclamation over our great state. We had a letter from Marsha Blackburn, and we were doing great. We had an initial prayer, and then we had more than enough people who wanted to get on stage to talk, which was great.
By the time we got to Mark Pody, I said, “I think Mark Pody is not going to make it. I heard a rebel yell from behind me, and I turned around, and it was Mark Pody. He’s probably 60, maybe a little older, and jumps at least three feet in the air and says, Praise the Lord for Tennessee!”
He walks up to the microphone, and I say, “You can have it because I’m out of words.” There were about 40 people, including people on the phone; it kept raining, and then some of the folks walked up. We finished by singing America the Beautiful.
Another group came up to Vaughn and said they didn’t know where the rededication was, and they apologized for getting confused. So Vaughn and the others read the proclamation and rededicated the state again, allowing this group to participate. Vaughn said that if a third person showed up, they would do it again. Tennessee didn’t just get one dedication; they received two. The Bible does say that two are better than one.
I think it’s beautiful to see the heart of intercessors who stood in the pouring rain because they wanted to be a part of something historic for their state. Vaughn said that Rep. Fritts and Senator Pody were among the most enthusiastic there. They were dressed casually and full of laughter.
Many states that have done rededications have seen almost immediate answers; not every state is the same. Each state has individual prayer targets and needs. When I asked Vaughn what was happening in Tennessee, he said that everything they pray for comes to pass. “It doesn’t always come about the way we want it to be, but the way God wants it. It might sound like arrogance, or that we are being too bold, but we recognize that we have boldness and authority in Christ.”
Here are some praise reports from times of intercession for Tennessee; these were happening before the rededication.
There has been a continual sweeping of illegal immigrants in the country who are criminals. “We had a big sweep of 117 in the Smoky Mountain areas; they were all human traffickers, involved in drugs, and various things. Several of those things that kept happening. We have a general, for the lack of a better word, rebellion with most of the sheriffs in Tennessee. I think, probably, all, except for a couple of big cities, were not cooperating. We’re going to arrest these guys and hold them, so they’ve been holding them, and so now you have DHS come around and round them up.
“Another praise is that all the issues with abortion have come to fruition through our Attorney General’s office, Jonathan Skrmetti. He is like a bulldog, taking on everything. We have a lot of companies; these things may sound negative, but they are good. The blue oval city’s commitment to building this fantasy about the EV electric vehicles- they’re going to have these big, large-sized trucks that we’re going to all be powered by EV, and that’s all gone now.
Round up Act Blue, Zarabella, and other foundations that actively absconded with people’s names and gave donations in the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars to different candidates; this is all fraud and has blown up in their faces. Several are taking the Fifth Amendment. People tend to see fraud and things like this uncovered and think everything is so corrupt, everything is bad, but you have to know where the cancer is before you can cut it out and cure it. We have to be aware of how bad it is. We pray consistently for the exposure of corruption.
This July will be the third year of our partnership with Representative Monty Fritts regarding the House Joint Resolution to designate July as a month of fasting and prayer. I’m not taking it lightly, but a House Joint Resolution is a much deeper, more lasting act by our governing authorities. So, this will be the third year we’ve had prayer every single night. When we pray on the lines, we have other states join. We’ve had Texas, New York, Louisiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Massachusetts call in. It’s been impactful; several of these states have adopted similar resolutions for months of prayer.”
Governor Bill Lee declared June “Family Month,” Vaughn said this answered prayer came right before the rededication. “ Instead of Pride Month, he wanted it to be family month, because we can see the modern communist theology is that family shouldn’t exist. The Governor didn’t say it’s not LGBTQ month or marriage month, or heterosexual month; he said it’s going to be family month. He’s made a public declaration of family. That is such a blessing, and that’s where the fight is, the fight is for family, right, because it was the first form of government.”
“God has really answered so many of our prayers for Tennessee, and we will continue to pray. We continue to pray for evil to be exposed, for justice, and for righteous leadership in our state, Vaughn said. There’s always so much to pray for, and though we see victories, we must never sit back and relax. We can’t afford to. As my wife Renee says all the time: watchfulness is the key to constant victory.”
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful (Colossians 4:2).
Father, we thank you for hearing us. Thank you for Your hand over every state and over this nation. We ask that what you are doing in Tennessee, you will do in every state. Give us righteous leaders who will call us to fast and pray and humble ourselves before you. From the highest office in the land, national leaders, local leaders, all the way down. Father, we thank you for Gov. Skrmetti, who has recognized the need to fight for our family. Lord, we pray that all of our state leaders will recognize the fight to abolish the family that Communism has brought into our nation. We pray for leaders who are as bold as a lion who will fight for families. Help us to be faithful watchmen on the walls where you have planted us. We will stand in the gap. We will trust you. We will pray, now Lord, do what only you can do, in Jesus name, amen.
Are you encouraged by the rededications still taking place and answers to prayer? Share your prayers for your state.
IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: DustyPixel/Getty Images Signature via Canva Teams.
