Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
#PrayForHobbyLobby: Intercession on Religious Liberty and the Supreme Court
#PrayForHobbyLobby: Intercession on Religious Liberty and the Supreme Court
Jan 1, 2026 6:26 PM

On Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. ET, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, both of which will have a profound impact on the future of religious liberty and freedom of conscience in America.

Thus,Hobby Lobby supporters across the country have been invited to offer their prayers in support of pany, and I encourage you to participate.You can help spread the word by changing the avatar on your social media accounts and posting with the hashtag #PrayForHobbyLobby. Although the Court will be hearing arguments tomorrow, I would encourage us to begin our intercession today.

Russell Moore of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission explains:

The government is telling the Hobby Lobby owners, the Green family, that their free exercise rights aren’t relevant because they run a corporation. They’re telling these Anabaptist woodworkers and the Catholic Little Sisters of the Poor and ministries of all sorts all over the country that what’s at stake is just the signing of some papers, the payment of some money.

Our government has treated free exercise of religion as though it were a tattered house standing in the way of a government construction of a railroad; there to be bought off or plowed out of the way, in the name of progress …

…We cannot accept the theology lesson the government has sought to teach us, that religion is simply a matter of what happens during the scheduled times of our services, and is left there in the foyer during the rest of the week.

I wrote last week that Hobby Lobby is ina fiery furnace of sorts. Let us pray that, in this pressing hour a Fourth Man stands close by, offering peace and protection according to a different system altogether. For the future of religious liberty and the free society, yes, but also for the further empowerment of our God-given callings, vocations, and activities in business, the family, the church, and beyond.

The ERLC providesthis helpful guide to help guide and focus our prayers:

God wants people to be free to seek him and to serve him (Acts 17:24-28).Pray for a favorable e. The cherished principle of religious freedom should receive the strongest constitutional protection it deserves.God is Lord of the conscience, not government (Acts 5:29).Pray that the justices of the Supreme Court will understand the importance of the separation of the state from the church.God can give understanding to make sound decisions (Prov.2:6-8).Pray for those who disagree with us, that God would help them understand and respect the consciences of people of faith.God can turn the hearts and minds of the justices to do his will (Prov.21:1).Pray for the Supreme Court justices, that they would be receptive to the arguments being made passionately before them.God can guide the mind and speech (Exod.4:11-12).Pray for lead attorney, Paul Clement, who will be arguing on behalf of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood. Ask God to give him clarity and wisdom, for his arguments to be persuasiveness, and for God to give him favor before the justices.

For more background on the case and its reach and implications, check out the mentary posted here on the blog:

Explainer: The Hobby Lobby Amicus BriefsHobby Lobby Owners Speak Out on HHS Mandate‘Little Victims Of The State:’ Steam-Rolling Religious Liberty In AmericaHHS Mandate: Does This Sound Like Freedom?HHS Mandate: Hobby Lobby Explains Its StanceFaith On The Line: Catholic Businessman Battles HHS MandateReligious Liberty and Business as Culture-MakingHobby Lobby in the Fiery FurnaceNotre Dame To Comply With HHS MandateGov. Jindal: The Silent War on Religious LibertyEconomic Martyrdom and the Great Irony of ProgressivismWhat Does Religious Liberty Stand Upon?Do We Need To ‘Check Our Faith At The Door?’

[product sku=”1032″]

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
6 Quotes: P. J. O’Rourke on government and politicians
On Thursday, the Acton Institute will be hosting an Evening in Chicago with P. J. O’Rourke. In honor of the event, here are six quotes on government and politicians by the best-selling author and beloved political satirist: On politicians: “A politician is anyone who asks individuals to surrender part of their liberty—their power and privilege—to State, Masses, Mankind, Planet Earth, or whatever. This state, those masses, that mankind, and the planet will then be run by . . . politicians.”...
Conservative pushback on free market principles can be traced to big government cronyism
Are conservatives abandoning the free-market movement? Has the rise of populism changed the axis of American politics by convincing the political right to embrace neo-mercantilism? These are questions that many are asking, and if you want to understand where the culture is heading, it is best to start here. Exit polls during the presidential election of 2016 showed that Donald Trump’s victory in the Rust Belt pointed to a political realignment in the United States. Suspicious of free-market ideas, politically...
Pope Francis: Pray before giving
Would we toss coins at Jesus lying in the street gutter? And how would we, likewise, hold ourselves accountable when serving a noble or princely figure? That is who the poor are and whom we discover in prayer as we discern best how to serve them. We then treat them literally like royalty, as they are“permeated by the presence of Jesus”, Francis says. Read More… In a private audience Francis had yesterday withSt. Peter’s Circle, a social action group serving...
How to talk and listen towards a free and virtuous society
Reading Dylan Pahman’s recent piece, Don’t write off young ‘socialists’, got me thinking about talking and listening. We all talk and listen, with varying degrees of success, every day. Most of the time I do each well enough to muddle through learning something from others while imparting some sliver of wisdom in between boisterous declarations of my opinions and preferences. It’s a work in progress but a vitally important one in that, “A wise man will hear, and will increase...
Game of Theories: The Keynesians
Note: This is post #113 in a weekly video series on basic economics. “One point of contention among economists is the causes of business cycles and recessions,” says economist Tyler Cowen. “And if you disagree on the causes, chances are that you disagree on the solutions.” In this next section from the Marginal Revolution University video series, we’ll look at some of the major business cycle theories—Keynesian, Monetarist, Real Business Cycle, and Austrian—and what their proponents think we ought to...
Socialism’s three-legged stool: Envy, ignorance, and faith
When democratic socialists were asked what they would build in place of Amazon’s HQ2 now that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had chased it out of Queens, the response was “a guillotine.” That reply, contained in an insightful and in-depth portrait of young socialists in New York magazine, perfectly illustrates the difference between the worldview of secular collectivists and those who believe in the free market. One may take from Simon van Zuylen-Wood’s thorough essay that today’s socialism is built on the three-legged...
Christian action in God’s world
This week’s Acton Commentary is adapted from a foreword to a new volume by Acton research fellow Anthony B. Bradley, Faith in Society: 13 Profiles of Christians Adding Value to the Modern World. The focus of this book is on Christians who are working out of their faith convictions in the world, not only in the context of secular institutions and environments, but especially in institutions that are animated by Christian values and identity. In this Abraham Kuyper stands as...
Tyler Cowen finds economic answers in ‘Genesis’
Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and all around internet impresario, has a new column up at Bloomberg on his recent rereading of the Book of Genesis, Living standards rise throughout the book, and by the end we see the marvels of Egyptiancivilization, as experienced and advised by Joseph. The Egyptians have advanced markets in grain, and the logistical and administrative capacities to store grain for up to seven years, helping them to e famine risk (for...
80% of the globe is ‘religious restricted’: UN hearing
Freedom of religion is denied in much of the world, according to the U.S. ambassador for religious freedom. And a United mittee of NGOs dedicated to religious liberty has called the UN to protect the most fundamental freedom. “Eighty percent of the world’s population lives in a religiously restricted atmosphere,” Sam Brownback told mittee. “Eighty percent of the world is religious. How can we tolerate this continuing situation?” He recounted harrowing tales of persecution that he had personally witnessed, especially...
Don’t write off young ‘socialists’
In his State of the Union address this year, president Trump warned of the dangers of socialism. But is there any substance to that worry? Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a self-declared socialist, has made headlines with her Green New Deal proposal. And more recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who identifies as a democratic socialist, announced he will again be running for the democratic nomination for president. So perhaps we shouldn’t write off the president’s rhetoric as just a call back to...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved