Megachurch pastors headline National Day of Prayer livestream event
Texas megachurch Pastor Jack Graham and the website Pray.com will host an online-only National Day of Prayer event Thursday night featuring U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, members of Congress and prominent pastors.
Known as the “Providing Hope through a Live Prayer Event,” the event will be streamed on social media at 6 p.m. Central time.
Notable speakers for the event include Pompeo, the Rev. Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Tebow, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President Samuel Rodriguez and Georgia Pastor Jentezen Franklin.
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Other participants include South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, evangelical author and disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada as well as pastors Paula White-Cain, Greg Laurie, David Jeremiah, Tony Evans, Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Texas and Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas.
Rodriguez stressed in a statement emailed to The Christian Post that even in a time of national uncertainty, “prayer changes everything.”
“In the midst of this pandemic, our nation prays [to remind] ourselves that while we are grateful for Uncle Sam, there is nothing like our Heavenly Father. Prayer is the bridge between Heaven and Earth,” Rodriguez, the pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, California, stated.
In addition to the prominent speakers, the online event will also feature music from notable contemporary Christian musicians Matthew West, Stephen Curtis Chapman and Michael Neale.
Franklin, pastor the Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia, explained in a statement to CP that he believed the United States “needs people of action right now to help combat this deadly virus.”
“But we can’t cast aside the power and comfort that comes from being people of prayer as well. I believe in a God that is active and listening to the cries of his people,” added Franklin. “I am praying for our healthcare workers, for endless amounts of wisdom and energy for them. I am praying for miraculous healing for those with the virus, and for a hedge of protection against the virus for those of us who are fortunate to be healthy.”
The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, taking place every year on the first Thursday of May.
The day of observance is generally observed with large gatherings across the United States. But due to shutdown orders to curb the spread of COVID-19, gatherings have been canceled or moved online.
This year, the theme for the National Day of Prayer is “Pray God’s Glory Across the Earth.” The theme is inspired by Habakkuk 2:14. The Bible verse states: “For the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
