More than 30 citizens of many denominations of faith gathered for the 73rd National Day of Prayer celebration on a sunny Thursday in front of the Pickaway County Courthouse. It was one of over one thousand such celebrations taking place in all 50 states and two territories.
A national day of prayer dates back to 1775 when the Continental Congress issued a proclamation recommending a day of fasting and prayer be observed.
Deven Anderson, Youth Pastor at New Life Assemblies of God in Circleville, gave the opening prayer.
“In the past 20 years, I’ve seen that we have become more and more divided.”
“If it’s competition that you sow, then it will be competition that you reap. If it is rivalry that you sow, then it will be rivalry that you reap,” he said. “Our churches have become more like rivals than they have been brothers or sisters. It’s time now that we start to tear those walls down. We are the church. It’s not the buildings. We have to ask ourselves, do we want Him to bless our place or dwell in our place, to inhabit our places.”
Anderson continued, “We need to build a unified body, a unified church where His Spirit dwells. When people leave their churches on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings or Wednesday nights, are they talking about how great the message was, how great the music was, how great the kids’ program was, or were they talking about how they just had an encounter with our Creator, and they will never be the same. “He is the ‘Great I Am,’ not the great ‘I was’ or the great ‘I will be.’”
Let’s pray for our churches.
“Let’s pray for our churches right now. Lord I’m so thankful and blessed to be here in your presence and ask that you bless every church in Pickaway County whether it’s in Orient or Tarlton or Stoutsville or Williamsport or Circleville,” Anderson said. “We pray that your spirit manifests and that we tear down these walls, these barriers of division and rivalry and instead replace them with love and grace, peace and patience in our churches.”
Blessed are those who are beacons of light.
“Let us be beacons of light, beacons of hope, beacons of your peace and love for the entire community, so that our citizens will rely on the churches, not the government. Help us to fulfill your vision,” Anderson said. “Help us be everything you have called us to be. Let us magnify your love. Let us be the church united in Pickaway County. Amen.”
Six other faith leaders each gave a prayer of hope for peace for each of the many groups of Pickaway citizens that make up our community, from the Sheriffs, the police, the fire and EMT safety personnel, to the teachers and educators, those who are serving or have served in the military, the arts and media community and others.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is a 501©3 non-profit organization that provides leadership so that the people of the United States, other than on Sunday, may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals. President Ronald Reagan set aside the First Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer when he signed Public Law 100-307 on May 5, 1988. The effort to organize the event in Pickaway County was accepted by Deven Anderson this year and the word was spread throughout the communities of faith.
Retired Army Major Joe Haugan gave a prayer for those in the military. His strong feelings about the importance of the National Day of Prayer were expressed when he said, “That proclamation by the Continental Congress changed the outcome of our future. When George Washington committed America to God on that day, then I believe that God committed himself to us.”
Haugan’s passion and devotion to his faith were confirmed when he was in Iraq. While serving in the Department of Army civilian forward support team, Haugan recalled how he was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban that had no armor protection when he received significant injuries. He earned a Purple Heart — he and his crew walked away alive.
“I was blown up in Iraq by an IED and I walked away alive,” he said. “That’s a miracle.”
Haugan’s prayer for those in service was, “Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the one true God, our shield, our strong tower, our strength. We lift up Your Word and the light of the military. Let us pray that your will is in their lives and keep them filled with unshakeable courage and faithfulness in Christ, their strength and salvation. Help them to obey and be excellent and shine in the commands they receive and help their commanders to give legal and lawful orders.”
Haugan continued, “Be in their hearts and minds steadfast in God and free from evil, remembering that the Lord if their life as they defend freedom for us. Watch over their families God, and their finances at home as their families are at home in the homeland while their spouse are protecting us. Protect their health, and help them to prosper, God, and watch over them. Bless their sacrifice, God, so they give, and we don’t have to. Help them, God, find their confidence in You, the one supplier who strengthens them in the battle, and for the wisdom to have a great victory. We ask this all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Amen.”
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