Redefining 9/11 with Prayer
Cleveland, TN – “Nine Eleven” are words that will forever be etched in the minds of Americans. Since 2001, 9/11 has become a day of remembrance, patriotism, and solemn reflection. However, one group wants to add ‘hope’ to that list. Cry Out America, which began in 2007, has concentrated on crying out to God for mercy on America at county courthouses across the nation.
However, with 9/11 occurring on Sunday this year, Cry Out America (COA) urged churches throughout the nation to spend time praying for America in their morning worship services. This idea seemed to resonate well with denominational leaders across America. Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, Churches of God, and the International Pentecostal Holiness Church joined with many others such as Sammy Rodriguez and National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition in the effort, asking their pastors to dedicate some of all or the 9/11 service to prayer.
“Sunday, September 11, needs to become the day thousands of churches move from prayerlessness to prayerfulness. The subject at hand is one thing: America!” commented Ronnie Floyd, Immediate Past President of the Southern Baptist Convention. “So many pastors and church leaders have said a service devoted entirely to prayer was the greatest day their church has ever had,” continued Floyd.
COA experienced one of the greatest responses to date across the nation. With the 15th anniversary of the 2001 attacks coming during an election year, many Christians viewed this September 11 as a critical day.
In addition, hundreds of community-wide COA public gatherings were held on the afternoon and evening of 9/11 to demonstrate the power of love, unity, and reconciliation. Many coordinators opted to gather the community in larger churches and arenas to have an extended time of prayer for the nation.
Randy McCollum, county coordinator for Owen County Indiana said, “This event helped reveal the intense nature of our unified prayers for a spiritual awakening. It can serve as a beginning of gatherings involving many churches.”
Chaplain Desiree Bernstein, coordinator in Brooklyn, NY, mobilized an estimated 300 for their COA event that included servicemen from each branch of the military. They prayed, sang songs, and the Marines gave a 21-gun salute at this ecumenical event.
Afternoon and evening attendance at gatherings ranged from one soul faithfully prayer walking at their county courthouse—interceding for those passing by and for our nation—to several thousand. Two pastors in Florida, one Assemblies of God and the other Southern Baptist, teamed up to host a prayer rally with a mass choir of 400 and attendance of nearly 5000 at the Pensacola Bay Center. “I believe we need to pray like never before, and that’s the reason we got together and said, ‘Let’s call a big prayer meeting,’” said Joey Rogers, Pastor of Pace Assembly Ministries.
In Washington D.C., Cry Out America partnered with David’s Tent DC, National Day of Prayer, and several other organizations to host the If My People 2016 prayer event and simulcast. Kay Horner, National Coordinator of Cry Out America and Jonathan Cahn, Author of The Harbinger, were on the program to speak and pray.
“This powerful prayer gathering in our nation’s capital was a tremendous conclusion of a day with thousands of congregations and communities synergizing our prayers for God to bring revival and awakening to this nation,” Horner commented with a tone of extraordinary gratitude.
Organizers for Cry Out America have commented on their social media sites, “Regardless of your politics, we can all agree that America needs prayer now.” This has been the heartbeat of the Awakening America Alliance and Cry Out America prayer initiative from the beginning—calling the American Church back to prayer. This past Sunday was a great step in that process.
(Source: Awakening America Alliance)
