National Day of Prayer is coming up

Published 2:06 pm Friday, April 24, 2020

To the Editor:

Thanks to Betsy Greer who wrote the letter to the editor in the Elizabethton Star suggesting a daily call to community prayer. This is much needed as the root of all our problems are spiritual. I agree that it would be good to set a time every day to ring the church bells calling all to prayer. I believe ringing the bells at 12 noon every day, beginning on the National Day of Prayer, would be best.

Even if their church isn’t open, Christians could pray in their cars at their church if they desired. According to www.nationaldayofprayer.orgthe theme for 2020 is “pray God’s glory across the earth.” The key verse is Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Habakkuk teaches that God requires us to be patient and God’s ways are mysterious. Habakkuk gives us one of the most important verses in the Bible in Habakkuk 2:4 “…the just (righteous) shall live by his faith.” The verse is quoted three times in the New Testament. One isn’t living by faith if they aren’t praying!

Christians need to use every opportunity such as the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 7, to cry out with one voice for our nation, for our leaders, for revival to sweep our land. Repentance, prayer and revival are needed in America as never before. God calls America to repent from its stubborn unbelief and ignorant self-worship. Christians must cry out to Jesus for revival for our nation and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our churches. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the one essential aspect of all revivals. God wants to do again what he did to start the church in Acts and bring a worldwide outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our end time churches that are in one accord.

Pray for another outpouring on Pentecost Sunday, May 31. An outpouring of the Holy Spirit will bring healing, boldness to preach the gospel and win souls as never before. Sodom had no Bibles. Those living in Sodom (America) are the last to know they are living in Sodom. “You can ignore reality but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” Christians throughout the world have been burdened to pray for America and come as missionaries to America. Unless revival occurs in America it will be more tolerable for Sodom than America during the coming judgment and tribulation. Only Jesus can save America and each of us from the wrath to come!

There are 1500 medical studies showing a direct positive connection between prayer and church attendance and better health and longer lives. The evidence of the power of prayer to God is so overwhelming it caused the conversion of an atheist to faith in the one and only God, Jesus. Researcher Tom Knox is one example of an atheist who became a Christian after studying medicine and faith. Knox said, “What I discovered astonished me. Over the past 30 years a growing and largely unnoticed body of scientific work shows belief is medically, socially and psychologically beneficial.” “There’s a seven-year difference in life expectancy between those who never attend church and those who attend weekly,” Knox said.

Dr. Harold G. Koenig said, “Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick — and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster.” This proves  you can’t out give God. Any time you spend in prayer or in church, God will give it back many times over. We need it, our families need it, our nation needs it. Spend more time with the One who loves you most!

Although we are living in dark days marked by moral decline and selfish ambitions the Bible says God is able to do much more than we could ever ask or imagine. Serious challenges call for serious prayer. James 5:16 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James goes on to tell us Elias prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Elias did that by declaring it would not rain. Then James says Elias just prayed (seven times) and it rained. So declaring God’s will is praying fervent and earnestly.

John Newton said it best in 1779. Thou art coming to the mightiest King large request with thee bring, for His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much! I pray and declare that East Tennessee will have its greatest revival and outpouring of the Holy Spirit this year in the name of Jesus our Savior and coming King!

D.D. Nave

Elizabethton