Day of Prayer

This last Thursday was home to the National Day of Prayer, and this was really my first time participating in anything to do with the yearly event. I have always thought that being a Jesus seeker isn't all about the number of "Christian" events you attend in a week but more about how you live your life both in your home and at say, Wal-Mart, when you feel like sitting on your couch drinking lemonade but instead you're fighting soccer moms for the best deals on cream of chicken soup.

So, I've never frequented a whole lot of these kinds of events. We have always been extremely involved in the church body, even at one time being on staff as youth leaders, because I believe that no matter what crazy things go on in the church, it is still the long-awaited bride of Christ Jesus.

But I decided to take Kaydn Rye to Thursday's National Day of Prayer function here in our town because I guess it just hit me how great it is to live in a country where I can join on the county courthouse steps with others who believe in the healing power of Yahushua and praise and pray. I find that amazing, and you know what, who knows who long we may have that privilege. Ten, or even five years down the road we may not have that privilege. Is there any other country in the entire world where the entire nation celebrates a day of prayer? I don't know, but I doubt it.

And you know, our country may have a lot of problems, mainly because humanity has a lot of problems. But we still live in a country where you can say anything you want about the government and worship whatever you want in whatever way you want, and not get hauled into a jail cell, fearing for your life and the lives of your family members. And while I may think that Americans are so materialistic, uninterested in anything really of value of life, and desensitized, this is still the greatest country in the world. Why else would we be trying to put up a fence on our border? And while we can say what we may about the shortfalls of our government, this is still the nation that will not only exhaust its resources to help when one of its own is suffering from a disaster, but will also travel across the world to help with the world's disasters.

And there was something powerful that happened during that community-wide prayer service. Because of the crazy wind that day, which is a pretty regular occurence here in the middle of the prairie, the service was moved into a lutheran church across the street, and pastors from all different denominations across the city took turns praying. I just thought it was amazing that methodists, baptists, pentacostals, catholics, lutherans, you name it, could all come together, putting aside their doctrines and man made rules and regulations and worship the same G-d.