By Mary Faulds, AFA Journal staff writer

October 2008 – A large tour bus pulls in front of the Indiana State Capitol, the words “United States of America” boldly emblazoned on the sides. People instantly start milling around, snapping pictures, chatting to each other excitedly. “Is it Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama?” they ask. No, it’s Prayer Force One on a cross-country crusade to unite Americans in prayer for the nation.

Prayer Force One is the ministry of former Oklahoma State Senator Ed Moore and his wife Sandy. The bus is the flagship of a larger initiative that also includes a Web site, www.prayerforceone.com, and a book, Prayer Force One: Across America. Moore, now a full-time preacher in Newalla, Oklahoma, said the idea was born one day when they passed an old bus.

“It was a Greyhound bus built in 1971,” Moore said, “It was built the same year as Air Force One, SAM 27000. And when we saw the bus, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to our hearts immediately and said, ‘I’ve got a future for you in that bus.’”

Moore said they soon purchased the bus, but what were they going to do with an old Greyhound? “It wasn’t long after,” Moore explained, “that God spoke to our hearts and said ‘I want you to call it Prayer Force One and call America back to Me.’”

The name Prayer Force One is a purposeful play on the actual Air Force One. In fact, the paint scheme on the bus is comprised of the exact colors that are used on the presidential plane that was donated by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. 

Moore often draws comparisons between Prayer Force One and Air Force One. “Can you imagine the modern presidency without Air Force One?” he asked. “National Geographic has called Air Force One ‘an icon of power, an instrument of history, a legendary symbol of freedom, and a commanding political tool’. In much the same way, Prayer Force One is also ‘an icon, an instrument, a symbol and a tool’. It is all of these and much more.” Moore described Prayer Force One as a traveling conference center, a powerful press bus, a solemn prayer chapel and a ministry dining car.

Prayer Force One is all about uniting Christians to pray for this country. “We have a daily prayer meeting ‘in’ the White House...” said Moore, “virtual to be sure, that you access from our Web site, and what we’re doing is rallying Christians to do what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says – pray. We’re a catalyst.”

Through the courtesy of the White House Web site, the Moores encourage others to pray for America in a different room of the White House each day.  “As the camera rotates,” said Moore, “we ask our partners to use the time to pray for God to send revival to our nation, and to give us Godly leaders.”

 “At Prayer Force One headquarters, we’re not out to build a ministry, we’re out to save a nation,” explained Moore. “We believe that our ministry flagship, Prayer Force One, is not only an icon of faith but a practical tool for calling America back to God. One thing is for sure, once you’ve heard the name Prayer Force One, you never forget it. The impact of seeing it is even more dramatic.”

Sandy Moore agreed, “Even just driving down the road, every 10 miles we get some kind of response, a honk of the horn, a thumbs-up, a wave, and we’re quickly becoming the most photographed bus in America, because people take out their cell phones.”

The Moores said it’s the enthusiastic response from the public that helps keep them going. “If there’s one statement I can make that gets almost universal agreement,” said Ed Moore, “it’s that America needs prayer.”

He said people of all political and religious persuasions agree that America is in trouble. However, he believes that people have relied too heavily on the government to fix things, and that simply cannot work. This country cannot be saved unless God hears the prayers of His people.

“Someone once asked me,” said Moore, “‘Do you really believe that America can be saved at this juncture?’ I mean, we all as Christians look out there and see just how incredibly wicked our nation is fast becoming in so many areas. … When you see that, you almost despair, but I’ve often said, ‘Yes, America can be saved if we don’t mind God getting the credit, and that comes through prayer.’”

On November 2 (Moore has dubbed it Prayer Force One Sunday), he is encouraging Christians to sign up on their Web site and commit to pray that day about who to vote for in all the elections and to pray for the direction the country is going. He said they are hoping for millions to gather virtually in the White House to pray that day. “I believe this is the biggest decision Americans have ever had to make, at least in recent history.”

The other part of the Moores’ ministry is the book Prayer Force One: Across America. It is divided into two parts. The first is the story of Prayer Force One and how the Moores started the ministry and the bus tour. The second part of the book is divided into seven lessons teaching about America’s Christian heritage.

One of the lessons deals with the architecture of the nation. “If a man’s going to be temporal and die,” said Moore, “and he’s going to leave it for another generation, about the only way he can really impact that next generation is through documents that bind, like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, or he can inscribe it in stone, and they’ve done that. … It is all over the Supreme Court, including its doors!”

Moore said these lessons are useful for pastors, Bible study groups, homeschoolers, and people who simply want to be further informed about the Christian heritage of America. He said he wrote it to be easily accessible to the layman.

One particular lesson gets people thinking. “It’s called, ‘Will you run for president?’ And what it is, it’s a personal challenge to every reader, to challenge them to be as dedicated to saving our country as if they themselves were running it.” Moore said that gets the reader to think about the sacrifices the president makes to run the country. He said if people can give of their time, money and talent to run for office, why couldn’t Christians show the same dedication to pray for the country?

So what’s next for Prayer Force One after the election? Moore said he and his wife hope to use their experiences on the bus to write a coffee-table book about prayer as a movement across the nation. He said they will make no compromises in the message.

“We’ve got to understand… that Christians should pray in Jesus’ name and not just some generic god. … We understand that our heritage is Christian, that we have this wonderful nation because we honored God’s Son, and if we lose that, then we’ll lose everything.”  

40 DAYS TO PRAY THE VOTE  www.presidentialprayerteam.org
The Presidential Prayer Team (PPT) has started a 40-day initiative to encourage Christians to pray over all aspects of the coming elections. The initiative began May 28, 160 days, or four 40-day prayer cycles, before Election Day, November 4.

The 40 Days to Pray the Vote e-mail campaign is much like the original PPT mission. The topics of prayer vary widely from the authority of God, to campaigns that are positive and glorifying to God, and for God’s will to be done in the elections. The number 40 is significant because it is the number of days Jesus prayed in the wilderness before starting his earthly ministry.

Participants may still sign up for the daily e-mails, and archived pages of previous days’ prayers are available on the PPT Web site. Numerous people have also posted prayers and comments on a board made specifically for the Pray the Vote initiative.

As of August 14, over 17,000 people had signed up to pray for the election. One participant, Neil of Ft. Worth, Texas, was very enthusiastic about joining.

“The daily prayer itself is a wonderful blessing. It takes less than a minute to open the e-mail reminder, click on the page, and join the multitude of people who pray for the nation during this critical time,” Neil said. “I imagine some make this a part of their quiet time with the Lord. I am among those who catch the daily prayer at the office among all other e-mails of doing business of the day. It is a blessing to commit to God the future of the nation.”