During the last few weeks, millions have been praying, standing in faith together, offering prayers of agreement for God to protect and strengthen our countrymen in the midst of these storms that have battered much of our southern coastline.
During the last few days, we again have joined our prayers with millions of Christ-followers, both here and around the world, to ask for God’s protection. God has promised in His Word that He will never fail us or forsake us. And He won’t, no matter what we go through when we put our faith in Him, not in ourselves.
As we begin to look back to exactly what happened with Hurricane Irma, which was predicted to cause catastrophic damage the entire length of Florida, we cannot help but see that it was God who stripped it of its deadliest power before it was even halfway up the coast. In the maelstrom, regretfully, lives were lost, people were injured, property was damaged and destroyed. However, an even more powerful thing occurred over the last few days. Millions prayed.
It seems to have begun with Harvey, the worst flooding our country had ever seen, but it really began 16 years ago today, back when thousands of innocent people died at the hands of madmen who, like the Enemy of our souls, sought to steal, kill and destroy us.
We know as a people that God has protected us many times over in unexpected ways and even in unknown instances. And He will continue to if we live out 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Millions of Christians are joining together each evening at 9 p.m. (EST) to pray in agreement for the safety of our country. Some refer to it as the National Minute of Prayer, The 9pm Prayer, or just the Evening Prayer; however, regardless of what it is called, the precedent seems to be the same, the Big Ben Silent Minute—one minute of concerted prayer during WWII during which the British people prayed for peace.
Millions praying for one minute made a difference against the enemy in World War II. Millions praying for Texas and Louisiana, as they dealt with the worst flood ever recorded in our country, made a difference that was evident on the faces of the rescuers, as well as the rescued. We’ve been hearing the stories of survival in Texas, the extraordinary acts of ordinary people who reached out to help others simply because it was the right thing to do.
Millions prayed as Florida faced head-on the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. And the storm that was predicted to destroy the west coast of the state with Cat 4 winds and a 10-15 ft. surge somehow shifted just enough to rapidly downgrade to a 2 and then a 1. We saw the water of bays on the Gulf sucked out to sea only to come back calmly! Could the results of millions of people praying have been any more obvious?
This morning my friend, Shannon, who lives here in Northern Indiana, shared what she went through just yesterday when it seemed her father was surely lost in the storm: I have to say that prayer reignited my love of Christ yet again this weekend during Hurricane Irma. You see, my 83-year-old father was trapped in his home in Pompano Beach, Florida, two blocks from the Atlantic. He tried to get gas but there was none so he could not evacuate. He went on foot to three shelters and they turned him away because there was no more room. I lost contact with him yesterday morning… I watched helplessly as I got alerts for his area that stated that seven different tornadoes had touched down there, on top of everything else. I had lost all contact with him. Nothing but prayer would do. Then God proved once again that his mercies are new every morning when my father managed to borrow a cell phone and call me and let me know he was OK this morning at 8 am. There’s flooding all around his house but his house is water free and stands firm with no damage. Thank you Jesus for the things that don’t happen to us. And for those that do.
And thank you, Shannon, for reminding me to have a thankful heart even in the midst of the storm.
We’ve seen a coming together the last couple of weeks that has been long overdue, but we need to keep the momentum going. We need to ask the God, who stilled the wind on the Sea of Galilee and sends the former and latter rains, to do the same in the western reaches of our country and Canada to quench the massive fires that have been burning for months.
More than anything, we need to remember this moment in time, when we as a people are doing what we do best, bringing help to the helpless and hope to the hopeless through selfless acts of caring and prayers of healing and comfort. I believe that is the best part of who we are as a nation.
Note: For more information, I encourage you to search online for the Big Ben Minute, The 9 pm Prayer or National Minute of Prayer.
In the stillness... 