It’s great to see so many people praying for our country! We started the month with the National Day of Prayer and now are ending with prayers of gratitude for those who paid for our country’s freedom with their very lives. Prayer is always a good idea! And praying together has several benefits.
1. More caring: I’ve been involved with National Day of Prayer (NDP) for several years. We county leaders meet together on Zoom with our state and regional leaders once a month to share what’s going on in our counties and to pray for each other on a personal level. I feel cared for and equipped to confidently carry out my coordinator responsibilities. In our group we have four widows who understand and uphold each other’s special needs. This kind of connecting is what the Body of Christ needs more of. It also serves as a model in turn to encourage our town leaders under us to continue to pray and work with intercessors in their own area. This networking expands from local to county, state, regional, and national levels. And it goes on throughout the year. It’s more than a National Day of Prayer—it’s a National Day WAY of Prayer!
2. More contacts: I’ve noticed a gradual change in our yearly gatherings. My church had hosted NDP events for years in our own building. Other than the few specially invited guests, it was mostly our members who attended. When we moved our gathering to the town hall building, more churches were represented.
In the book of Acts, the early disciples all joined together constantly in prayer (Acts 1:14). They had no church buildings; they met in homes and public squares. There were no denominations, just Christ followers.
3. More coverage: This year I observed something else. One of the towns I oversee had a mix-up in dates and were unable to host an event in their church as planned. So my husband Kelvin and I scheduled a stop at their town hall on our way from another gathering that we had led. We displayed our large “National Day of Prayer” sign on the lawn facing the public library across the street and the high school just up the street. It was a high-traffic time with runners and cars passing through, all within view of our prominent sign. We were letting many people know, “This is a day to pray for our country!” If we had met in a church, these people may never have known that we are a country who prays.
I believe God had a purpose for moving this gathering away from a church building. It placed this event in the public eye. Since one of the purposes of NDP is “to mobilize unified public prayer,” meeting in public places will draw more people who might not come to a church.
Thanks be to God for His help and guidance as we seek to increase public awareness of the need for unified corporate prayer!