By Dr. Lou Shirey
The 67th annual observance of the National Day of Prayer occurred May 3, 2018. The final tally has not been released, but in recent years people have gathered in more than 40,000 venues throughout the United States to pray for our nation.
My wife, Becky, and I have been privileged for the past seven years to represent the IPHC at the observance in Washington, D.C. Held in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, this year was an exceptional time of unified prayer and proclamation. We left saying to each other, “That was too short.”
The chosen theme of “Unity” reverberated throughout the evening. Ephesians 4:3 reads, “Making every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.” This verse is a strong biblical reminder of the importance of unity within the church of Jesus Christ.
“A divided church cannot call a divided nation to unity,” Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president of the National Day of Prayer, stated this early in the program to remind us that our fractured nation can only be ministered to through a unified church. A variety of impactful speakers shared for five minutes each, and then we were called as a group to pray for repentance, for unity among the leaders of our nation, and for unity among ethnicities. We huddled in small groups and prayed, and other times we were on our knees crying to God to heal our nation.
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers presented their powerful songs sprinkled throughout the evening. Imagine these anointed singers filling up the space of Statuary Hall with their praises to God!
Possibly the highlight of the observance was an interview by Dr. Floyd with Pastor Frank and Sherri Pomeroy who serve as pastors of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Their church is where 26 people were killed on November 5, 2017. This brave couple brokenly shared about the healing that God is doing within their church and their community. Their 14-year-old daughter was one of the church attendees that was killed. Pastor Frank then led us in prayer for unity and security in America’s churches, schools, and communities.
A portion of the observance can be seen by viewing the National Day of Prayer video online.
God bring unity to our churches!
