Last week, the Senate voted not to consider a Congressional override of the Iran nuclear deal, all but assuring that the agreement will survive congressional review and move forward toward implementation. Political sideshows will likely continue in Congress and on the campaign trail, but we can now return our focus to ensuring that the agreement accomplishes what it set out to do: prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
Indeed, this deal will grant inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency unprecedented access to Iran's nuclear facilities and potential suspected sites. It will significantly reduce Iran's nuclear infrastructure and capacity to build a bomb. And it will extend the time it would take Iran to build a bomb if it ever did try to cheat -- from weeks before the deal, to over a year after the deal goes in effect. Perhaps most importantly, it provides a way, short of war, to stop Iran's nuclear program.
That's why we're praying for this deal -- literally. More than 160,000 American evangelical Christians have signed a pledge to pray for the deal and our leaders last Friday, September 18, the day after the final day for congressional review. And while the number of individuals who have pledged to pray is enormous, they will surely be dwarfed by the actual prayers of the majority of evangelicals in America that polling has shown support the deal.
We will be praying for peace in the Middle East, that our leaders continue to work toward the goal of preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon, and that their decisions will protect the security of our citizens and strengthen America's moral leadership in the world.
In so doing, American evangelicals will join our voice to other Christian leaders in the U.S. who have spoken out in support of the Iran deal, as well as Christians and people of many faiths around the world who recognize that this deal is the surest and best way to keep Iran from getting a nuke.
The strength of the evangelical community's support of the Iran agreement has been an under-appreciated and underreported data point on this issue. But for a people who worship the Prince of Peace, supporting strong diplomacy and a deal that will keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is the natural position for Christians to take.
While we're under no illusion about the nature of the regime in Tehran, we also know that another war in the Middle East will not make America or our world more secure. And especially when there is a chance for strength and security through diplomacy, we should be guided by Christ's teaching that "Blessed are the peacemakers."
That is why a chorus of the faithful will be lifting up its voice in prayer on Friday for a deal that makes America and the world more secure.
Cizik is the president of the New Evangelical Partnership.