Americans urged to pray remotely for revival, God's glory on Nat'l Day of Prayer
On the 69th National Day of Prayer to be observed Thursday, the Southern Baptist Convention is calling on Americans to join in a nationwide, remote prayer gathering for spiritual awakening and revival, and to pray specifically for seven centers of influence.
As the theme for the National Day of Prayer is “Pray God’s Glory Across the Earth,” SBC is urging Christians to pray for God’s glory into the seven centers of influence: government, military, media & arts, business, education, church and family.
“Pray for wisdom (for federal, state and local officials) in all matters related to COVID-19, and the major national and global challenges they address daily. Pray that God will work in them and through them,” the prayer guide says. "Ask God for a great spiritual awakening in the United States."
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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Christian leaders will gather remotely to observe the day on May 7.
SBC President J.D. Greear will lead the online National Day of Prayer and Fasting event Thursday afternoon. The gathering will be streamed live in several places, including the SBC Executive Committee’s and Baptist Press’ Facebook pages.
SBC will be hosting another prayer event this week.
The day before the National Day of Prayer, Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, will be joined by Fred Lunsford (a 95-year-old retired pastor and revivalist who started the prayer movement) Greg Mathis (pastor of Mud Creek Baptist Church in Hendersonville, N.C.), and David Horton (president of Fruitland Baptist Bible College) for Praying on the Mountain, a nationwide remote prayer gathering for spiritual awakening and revival.
Lunsford, Mathis and Horton are among those who have been involved in the effort to gather churches together to pray for a spiritual awakening.
On why he joined the three, Floyd said, “As soon as I watched the message on America by Dr. Greg Mathis as well as his compelling interview with 95-year old Pastor Fred Lunsford, I joined the team to pray on May 5th for spiritual awakening in America," according to Baptist Press.
The event, in which more than 100,000 people are expected to pray with Lunsford, will feature an account of how Lunsford initially felt God speaking to him, telling him to pray for revival, and of how Mathis, Horton and others caught the vision.
Two years ago, Lunsford thought it was time for the Lord to take him home, as he had pastored for 70 years, fought World War II and preached at revivals all over the U.S. But God had different plans for his life.
“He extended my years for a reason, and He wanted me to pray for spiritual awakening and to get as many people praying as I could,” Lunsford said, according to Baptist Press. “God spoke into my heart, and I yielded to it. It’s not me; it’s the Lord.”
Floyd said that while he has been praying for a spiritual awakening for years, “never have I seen a greater moment for this to occur in America than today.”
