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When I retired from nursing a few years ago and moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, I said, “OK, Lord, I’m all yours: what do You want?” I laugh now because I had no idea what God had in mind by leading me to join IFA and get engaged at our New Hampshire State House.

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I hated politics, but when I saw how our nation risked going over a cliff into tyranny, I was convinced that I needed to get involved whether I liked politics or not. I thought, “I love my country, and I know God loves this country; He blessed it so much. I can’t do nothing.” 

God orchestrated my connection with the Capital City House of Prayer and Annette Tuttle, who is my New Hampshire state prayer co-leader. The Lord led us both to the State House, showing us that it would be the “frontline” of battle. Although we are in the early stages of making connections, I will share a few things I’ve learned so far about reaching out to elected officials.

Find Common Ground

One of the best ways to begin developing rapport with legislators is to pinpoint a shared perspective. Even if a representative only votes for one thing I agree with, I find that one thing and thank them for it. Or if we share no common perspective, I might just thank a legislator for their public service.

All of New Hampshire’s U.S. representatives and senators are Democrats. Although my political views do not align with theirs, I noticed one of my congresswomen is passionate about finding more ways to protect battered women and pass legislation to keep them safe. I sent her an email simply to thank her for her work in this area. My expression of support and respect for this work could build a bridge for positive dialogue. 

In another example, a House representative gave a powerful testimony and crossed party lines on a vote to support a bill that protected children. Afterward, I called him on the phone to personally thank him. I told him we would be praying for him. Later, another intercessor and I met with him at the State House and prayed for him. He was blessed and so were we! Our prayer group is planning to meet near the State House soon, and we look forward to inviting legislators for prayer.

Lean into Respectful Differences

Yes, even respectful differences can build bridges. When I lived in Massachusetts, I emailed my senator, a progressive Democrat, about a bill to require all the public schools to follow the new state health curriculum, which included what they called “age-appropriate” sex education for K-12. I was opposed to the bill and he was for it. He emailed me a personal response explaining why he disagreed with me about the dangers of hypersexualizing children at a young age. He said he didn’t think this danger existed in the bill. 

I emailed the senator back, and I did not argue my point further. Instead, I thanked him for responding to me, especially when we held different positions since many legislators did not take the time to do that. I said it was good that we could have healthy dialogue even if our positions differed, and I would consider the points he had made. He emailed me back and thanked me, adding that if I was ever going to be in Washington, D.C. he would give me a tour of the Capitol and to let him know if I needed anything.

Deploy Your State Prayer Call Connections

We have a fearless editorial columnist on our prayer call who shares her Christian values on political and cultural hot-button issues in New Hampshire. She is close friends with a conservative Christian House representative in our state. The columnist on our call often receives prayer points and updates from her friend in the House. 

This contact sometimes interrupts our prayers with reports of victory for or against the specific bills we target through intercession. On January 4, she testified when the House passed the ban on transgender surgery for minors and several other bills, and she reported to our prayer group, “It’s a miracle! All the good bills and amendments were passed, and all the bad bills were thrown out!” 

On the day of the New Hampshire Primary, our contact reported to us that all the conservative candidates won the special election in the north country. Much of the general public was so focused on the Presidential primary that they didn’t see what else was going on in the rest of New Hampshire that day. Meanwhile, we saw God answer prayers in real time!

I saw our contact in the State House a few weeks ago when I attended the hearing on the physician-assisted suicide bill before the Senate committee. I had an opportunity to thank her personally for testifying and for all that she is doing, and I reminded her that our prayer group is praying for her. 

She continues to send us prayer points, and she spoke at the Her Voice Movement event on April 13, which my co-leader Annette did a beautiful job of organizing. All because the columnist on our prayer call was generous with her connections! We hope that more of this representative’s conservative colleagues will hear these testimonies of answered prayer and carve out time to meet with us and pray.

Lavish Kindness Liberally

I once heard a woman ask an elected official what she wanted from constituents. The official said, “To be treated with kindness.” She revealed that many people often only reached out to her to tell her how she should vote, complain about how she voted, or fault her for what she did or did not do. Her words reminded me that kindness and respect go a long way.

Who knows, we may eventually get to share Jesus with some legislators as a result! As the Word says, the kindness of God leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). May our leaders experience this kindness through God’s people.

Have you engaged with your elected officials? Share your own strategies with other intercessors below!

Donna Peterson is the IFA state prayer leader for New Hampshire. Photo Credit: rattanakun/Canva Pro.