How searches for the end times, praying for government, and other topics changed from 2012 to 2016.
On Election Day, more people were searching the Bible for topics involving the end times than for praying for government.
And the top Bible verse of the 2016 presidential election: 2 Chronicles 7:14.
In the New International Version, the passage reads, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Many Christians use 2 Chronicles 7:14 as encouragement to pray for their country since it covers a lot of ground (humility, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, healing). Christian leaders like Anne Graham Lotz, Franklin Graham, and Joel Osteen shared the verse in their election remarks, and it was quoted in pastors’ op-eds and letters to the editor in newspapers across the country.
It was even read aloud in Congress on Tuesday, in honor of National Bible Week.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence also referenced 2 Chronicles 7:14 in a CBN interview in October, saying, “It's an important time for us to pray, and I believe what has always been true and is still true today: that if his people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray, that he'll again hear from heaven and he'll heal our land.”
Florida Southern Baptist pastor Dean Inserra nodded to the verse a month before the election, tweeting, “Somebody take 2 Chronicles 7:14 out of context real quick. We need a God Bless America rally pronto.”
Meanwhile, OpenBible.info founder Stephen Smith charted the differences between topical Bible searches around Election Day 2016 when compared to Election Day 2012. Among more than 300,000 queries, notable increases include topics …
