Nearly 7,000 Southern Baptists gathered to pray during the Tuesday evening session of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting June 16–17 in Columbus, Ohio.
People spent more than two hours in repentant prayer — in huddles, on their knees, on their faces, in their seats and at the altar — for prayerlessness, division, racism, prejudice and a multitude of other sins. They prayed for their churches, the SBC, missionaries, the persecuted Church, schools, the nation’s leaders and more.
“God, revive Your Church,” prayed SBC President Ronnie Floyd. “We pray tonight for spiritual awakening, the next great awakening.”
Spiritual leaders from America’s churches — including Hispanic, Korean, Native American and African-American pastors — prayed for an end to racism and prejudice as they pledged to work together “as one family.”
The prayer event included participants around the world, connected by broadcasts from Daystar Television network and Salem Radio Network, as well as a live stream on the Internet. Early estimates indicated around 8,000 people joined in online.
“The only thing that can ultimately reshape America is a spiritual awakening and a great movement by God,” Floyd explained to participants. “There has been no great movement by God without extraordinary prayer. When was the last time you gathered thousands of people on a Tuesday evening and prayed for spiritual awakening across the United States? We have full confidence in what God can do.”
‘Greatest sin is pride’
Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas, called Southern Baptists to personal repentance.
“God is calling us to brokenness and humility,” he said. “The greatest sin is pride.”
Surrounded by others of Asian descent, Paul Kim, pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, asked Asian-American churches to join him in “racial reconciliation … in our land.”
Ken Whitten, pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church, Lutz, Florida, noted a litany of sins he sees being committed by Southern Baptists, including — among others — skepticism, distrust and a lack of urgency to reach the world with the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the first of several to pray for racial reconciliation.
“The Bible calls us to be in unity,” Williams exhorted prayer meeting participants. “It’s not skin; but sin. Come together. Stand up and be the people of God. Rise up.”
Vance Pitman, pastor of Hope Church, Las Vegas, Nevada, said, “I have read about revival. I have heard about revival … but I have never experienced that kind of awakening where I live.”
Pitman said he was not content just to read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit but wanted the nation to experience it like never before.
Floyd urged pastors to hold a similar prayer service in their churches. The prayer guide is available at pray4awakening.com.
(TAB, BP)
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