BURLINGTON, W.Va. (BP) – Broken Before the Throne prayer ministry leader Dan Biser discovered a reality when working with a multidenominational group of Christian ministers.
“With the hour of our need for the nation and for the church, especially Southern Baptists, we see that there are probably over 85 percent or most of our over 45,000 churches that do not have one hour of corporate prayer a month,” Biser said. “For those who are doing it, we rejoice and God bless them.”
Seasoned Southern Baptist leaders, evangelists and pastors will join Biser in the livestreamed “A Call to Pray – SBC” Saturday (April 24) from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. at brokenbeforethethrone.com.
A Call to Pray – SBC precedes the May 6th National Day of Prayer, which will feature an 8 p.m. Eastern national prayer service broadcast from the Museum of the Bible in Washington. A May 6th Pray.com online and radio prayer broadcast at 7 p.m. Eastern is among numerous additional events scheduled nationally and supported by Southern Baptists. The National Day of Prayer is in its 70th year.
Longtime prayer mobilizer Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, is featured in all three events.
“Prayer is our single greatest action in this moment. We must bring prayer back to the forefront of every part of American life,” Floyd said. “When we believe God can do anything, we pray like it really matters. God can do more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime. When we pray, we are believing this and depending on God to move.”
Joining Floyd and Biser Saturday in the event to call Southern Baptists to corporate prayer are Richard Blackaby, president of Blackaby Ministries International; Kennedy Dickenson, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Crockett, Texas; evangelist John Franklin, John Franklin Ministries; Gregory Frizzell, president and founder, Gregory Frizzell Prayer & Renewal Ministries, Inc.; Claude V. King, a discipleship and church health consultant formerly with Lifeway Christian Resources; James Pool, One Cry national prayer leader; and evangelist Sammy Tippit, president of Sammy Tippit Ministries.
“This meeting on Saturday, each of the speakers I just begged with them to share their heart for prayer, because these are all Southern Baptist prayer leaders,” Biser said. “They’ve come out of Southern Baptist seminaries and churches.”
Biser organized Saturday’s call to prayer to encourage “churches to be houses of prayer and for Southern Baptist membership to be men and women of prayer.” The event will feature three sessions set from 9 a.m.-noon, 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.
Biser said Southern Baptists largely hold Wednesday night Bible study and prayer meetings that open and close with prayer focused on physical needs.
“Largely, spiritual needs are left undone, especially for our nation,” he said. “We’re really looking to see that the Southern Baptist churches begin to do corporate praying, whether that’s small group or whether that’s in a church service.”
Biser pastors Foxes Hollow Baptist Church in rural Foxes Hollow, W.Va., and leads Keyser Church from his home in Keyser, W.Va.
National Day of Prayer
“Lord Pour Out Your Love, Life and Liberty,” based on 2 Corinthians 3:17, is the theme for the 2021 National Day of Prayer, led by Task Force President Kathy Branzell and designed to mobilize public prayer for America.
In the event’s 70-year history, hundreds of local events have been held annually in addition to national events in Washington.
Branzell and Andrew Palau of the Luis Palau Association will host the national broadcast from the Museum of the Bible, with viewing options and promotional resources available here.
In addition to Branzell, Palau and Floyd, the National Day of Prayer broadcast will include Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas; Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif.; Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, and evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, founder and president of AnGel Ministries.
Pray.com
Pray.com’s national online broadcast will also emphasize the spiritual and mental benefits of prayer, jointly recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month, Pray.com cofounder Steve Gatena said.
“At Pray.com we believe in the power of prayer,” Gatena said. “Recent studies point to the positive impact prayer can have on mental health. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mental health epidemic, we know the need for prayer in America is more urgent than ever.”
In addition to Gatena and Floyd, hosts will include Graham, Ed Young, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas. Also on program are Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Mark Driscoll, founder and senior pastor of The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Ariz. Silicon Valley technology executives and musical guests are also scheduled.
Pray.com cites scientific studies reinforcing the positive benefits of prayer, including 2020 and 2019 studies from the American Psychological Association, and a 2018 study focusing on the benefits of prayer in the lives of adolescents and young adults, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The event will be available on the pray.com app and Sirius XM Channel 154.
