Dear Governor Pence,

You probably don’t remember me, but we chatted after the Annual Statehouse Prayer Service this past January.

When the service was over, my wife asked me, “Do you want to go shake hands with the governor?”

Looking at the large crowd already encircling you I said, “No. He will probably leave before all those people get to him anyway.”

“You’re going to have to wait; looks like your granddaughters are trying to get to him.”

When my granddaughters, Brooklynn and Hannah (ages 13 and 10 at the time) reached you, you talked with them just like you did with the dozens of men in suits. You paused for a photo and signed Brooklynn’s program. You took time with them.

After awhile, it became apparent you were going to take the time to chat with anyone who wanted a minute or two of your day. At this moment I decided to, as my wife put it, “shake hands with the governor.”

When I reached you, I think I was the only one left.

Our conversation was about the healing of the land. You talked about the need to have Christians praying for Indiana and the United States.

We talked about 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We said a short prayer together and went our separate ways.

Near the end of your acceptance speech last week you said, “My fellow Americans, I believe we have come to another rendezvous with destiny, and I have faith, faith in the boundless capacities of the American people, and faith that God can still heal our land.”

When I heard your words, my mind immediately went to our conversation back in January – talking about 2 Chronicles 7:14 and the process the verse gives for the healing of the land.

“If my people, which are called by my name” – As you told me, we need the Christians praying for Indiana and the United States.

“Shall humble themselves” – An important part of humbling yourself is admitting when you are wrong. As we were watching Mr. Trump go through issue after issue, point after point about the problems facing our nation I told my wife the naysayers would only talk about how negative his statements are and not about the items he is bringing up. Will the Christians of America humble themselves or attack those that mention the problem?

“Pray” – Will the Christians of America pray about everything? To heal America, we need to be praying for much more than our leaders. We need to be talking to God about every aspect of our lives.

“Seek my face” – In the middle of a political season, we tend to look at the candidates as the answer to our problems. God is the answer to our problems, not Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton. Does God use people in public office to accomplish His will and lead the people? Yes, He does (Romans 13:1-7), but the government is not the end all answer – God is. In the hearts of many Americans, the government has taken over the role of God. We look to the government to supply those things that God said He would provide. It seems like we’ve moved from a nation of prayer to a country that fills out their assistance paperwork. As individuals and collectively as Americans we need to seek God’s face for our solutions.

“Turn from their wicked ways” – Corruption in government, our views on sex, kicking the Bible and prayer out of schools, mass shootings, and other things as a nation not to mention the sins of the heart in our individual lives. Will America turn from her sins?

I agree with you 100 percent, we are at a rendezvous with destiny, and it will take faith and humility to turn the nation around, regardless of who is the White House.

Governor, while serving in public office you have not been shy or apologetic about being a Christian. The nation needs a strong Christian in the limelight, in the forefront, a Christian that can take the persecution of the press and, in your case, his political peers, to usher in a time of healing. A time of humility, prayer, seeking God and repentance.

Will you and Mr. Trump be the new leaders of our nation come early next year? God only knows, but the time of showing what the country needs – turning back to God – is now.

As Mordecai said to Esther, I now say to you, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Sincerely, from a Christian-American,

Pastor Tim (Preacher) Johnson.