SPARTA, Tenn. (BNC) — The West Sparta congregation has invited all Tennessee churches to participate in a special prayer for the U.S., Wednesday evening, Sept. 16.
On their website, they explain the motive for their move.
Our God has promised to answer the prayers of His faithful children and He has the power to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (1 Peter 3:12; Eph. 3:20). We realize the dangers that our country is facing in the realm of morality and Christians must stand united for God ordained marriages, families, and home life. With this in mind, we invite all the Churches of Christ in Tennessee to join together in prayer in behalf of our nation on September 16 during your regularly scheduled Wednesday night assembly.
Several resources have been made available on the prayer-meet page, including a sample order of service for the prayer session.
The site asks participating congregations to notify them of their decisions.
In an email to BNC Sept. 15, gospel preacher Derrick Coble gave the numbers to date.
“We have heard from 37 congregations who will participate in this. However, we estimate that this number is higher (possibly 50+) due to congregations simply not letting us know,” he wrote.
Derrick also looked forward to hosting future efforts.
“Our goal is to expand this next year and set aside a day for congregations nationwide. To do this, we would like for a congregation or two in each state to commit to taking care of their state as far as advertising goes,” he said.
2015-09-16 at 3:56 pm
I think many of our brethren are off base with regards to prayer and our nation. There are those who believe as I do that civil government originated from man’s efforts rather than God’s will. The prayer for the powers that be in I Timothy 2:1-7 is not as much a prayer about civil governments but as Wayne Jackson observed “the aim of these prayers ultimately is for Christians, who desire to be facilitated with the type of environment that will enhance their work of evangelism, to the end that people can be saved genuinely.” (Before I Die; p.54) We need to understand that we are about souls. Our work is the same no matter what civil government we are under. Paul put it this way: “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (2 Timothy 2:4, ESV). I don’t like what our government has done to God’s marriage law any more than the rest of you. However praying about it now is like closing the gate after the cattle are gone. Perhaps what we need to pray is that we will once again have a zeal for lost souls like we once did. Some of you remember when men would come to worship and on the lapels of their coats would be a little fish hook. This would mean “fishers of men.” Today they wear an American flag. What does that mean?