Prayer at the Heart seeks one million people to pray for nation until Pentecost
A nondenominational group called Prayer at the Heart hopes to sign up one million Americans to pray for an awakening leading up to Pentecost on May 24. Traditionally in Christianity, the period from Passover to Pentecost, which includes Easter, represents a spiritual journey from hope and deliverance to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
“It took a great awakening to give birth to our nation,” said Douglas Small, Ph.D., the movement’s founder and executive director. “On America’s 250th anniversary this year, it’s going to require Christians across America humbly seeking God together to save our nation.”
READ: Sight and Sound’s ‘A Great Awakening’ Opens
The united prayer effort comes at a time when Americans are sharply divided on many cultural issues, polarized by politics and social media and questioning everything — including faith. Only one in seven Americans attends church regularly, but growing interest among young people is a reason for hope. “Across the nation, young adults are returning to church and faith,” Small said. “This movement seeks to awaken believers to a work that the Holy Spirit has already initiated.”
The country’s pessimism was reflected in a “Politico” poll last November that revealed half of Americans believe the nation’s best times are in the past. The antidote for America’s crisis of faith and hope, Small said is a “humble grassroots movement,” creating a groundswell of public prayer events in towns and cities across all 50 states. An online prayer wall will schedule prayer in every state for an hour each week.
“We want to bring real hope through Jesus Christ back to the center of Americans’ lives,” he said. “We believe God will use this movement to change hearts, awaken faith in Christ and renew hope across America.”
Christian leaders supporting this movement include Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Doug Clay, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God; David F. Nixon, Ph.D., district superintendent emeritus of the Church of the Nazarene; and Liz Adleta, a global prayer strategist.
More information is available at www.prayerattheheart.org.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice Photo: freepik
