In part two of this exclusive interview with Charisma Editor Marcus Yoars, presidential candidate and longtime Charisma reader Michele Bachmann discusses how she hears from God, the state of the church in America and more. If you missed part one, where the congresswoman opened up about her faith and charismatic roots, click here to read.
Charisma: We don’t often get the opportunity to ask a candidate this: How would you say you hear from God?
Bachmann: I’m a deep believer in the power of prayer. And all prayer is, is communication with the Lord. It’s pouring out and expressing our heart, our soul, to the Lord and then listening to what the Lord wants to speak to us. I have found God to be very faithful in my life and I’m grateful for that. And that’s why I think prayer is foundational, because that’s how we stay in communication with the Lord.
Charisma: What’s God saying to you in this season of life?
Bachmann: Well again, it’s to be faithful. When I went into Congress the one thing I needed to do was not only humble myself, but to stay in a continual state of confession of sins before the Lord. So I daily confess my sins before the Lord. I also actively try to turn away from sin. And with His help, that’s the only way that it can be done. His power and His right arm are enough to hold and sustain and keep me on the path that he’s chosen.
Charisma: Do you think the church is losing ground in America?
Bachmann: I think that the Lord has been faithful to us as a nation, but He’s also faithful to us as individuals. Gov. Bradford wrote in his Journal of Plymouth Plantation that what brought the pilgrims to the United States was to bring the gospel to people who didn’t know Jesus Christ. We can be extremely grateful that the people who originally wanted to found this nation did it with the purpose of bringing the gospel to this nation. My life verse is Second Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is that Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” That to me is a principle of the United States. We’ve known liberty like no other nation has, because I think the gospel of Jesus Christ has been able to be freely proclaimed here.
Charisma: Do you ever feel overwhelmed with your calling?
Bachmann: Almost any challenge in life can almost be overwhelming. And I think probably the most intellectually, taxing thing I have ever done, has to be an at-home mother of children. I think there’s nothing more powerful, nor more eternal than that of the role of being a parent. Our five biological children know the Lord. As far as my husband and I are concerned, there is no greater legacy that we will ever have than bringing our children up to know the Lord and to walk according to His ways.
Charisma: Why do you think the Spirit-filled community, in particular, is viewed as such extremists in the political arena?
Bachmann: I think that people need to be allowed to express their faith and worship the Lord freely and in the way that they want to. What I saw becoming a Spirit-filled believer was people who genuinely believed that God is who He said He is, and they believed the word of God as infallible. That is probably frightening to a nonbelieving world—to see people who believe in the God of the universe. Knowing that we serve an almighty, all-powerful God, we no longer fear men. We fear God more than we fear men. And that’s from a positive perspective because we know that eternity is far longer than this world. It’s important for us to believe in a faithful, mighty God.
Charisma: What would you say to the stay-at-home mom, the person in the marketplace, or the student who wants to make a difference in their world?
Bachmann: Well again, I think it’s being faithful in wherever you are. When we are faithful in little, then the Lord entrusts us with more. I firmly believe that we should never despise small beginnings. God brilliantly designs challenges. He gift-wraps them because it’s during those times that our character is forged. I have a lot of rough edges today, but there are a lot that He’s sanded off in my life. And I think it’s that idea of continually allowing yourself to be used of the Lord to be faithful for those times. David was a shepherd boy who was the runt of the family, but God used David and ultimately anointed him to be the greatest king in the history of Israel. It’s because he was faithful. If we are faithful, there’s something beyond that the Lord has for us because we have to see the joy in the journey. Jesus Christ died for every man. He became sin so that we wouldn’t have to know sin. We would never see death. And so, when we take His righteousness and wear it as a mantle, that’s what allows us to come into eternity and into heaven.
