Positve action unites a nation, if only for a few hours ... It's a much needed start! I have to say witnessing the power of positive action in the "2020 Prayer March" on our nation's capitol this past weekend was truly transformative! This march was the antithesis to the destruction, violence, intmidation and looting presently being unleashed upon our major city streets every night across the nation. These people, our fellow citizens from every walk of life, race, creed and color came together in prayer for a day in order to lift up our nation during a time of great division. The presence of these 50,000+ people, from all corners of our nation shone brightly like beacon of Hope and Unity, in a time of great trial and darkness for our nation as we struggle with the chilling effects of the China-pandemic - -with respect to health concerns, social isolation/depression/rioiting and widespread economic loss and financial hardships.
What amazed me the most was when Rev. Franklin Graham called for everyone in the crowd --and at home-- to take a moment to pray out loud for our nation and its leaders during this time of trial. And everyone in that enormous crowd did just that. Each one prayed in her own way, with her own unique words, combining together to create an uplifted and unified voice of much needed HOPE. This really struck a chord for me, that despite our differences in religious faiths and spiritual beliefs, we can still unite our voices in prayer to accomplish great things! That is so truly powerful and something that can be so easily overlooked in our modern world, where everyone seems to be obsessed with labeling everyone according to pre-ordained identy groups, thereby 'safely' pigeon-holing everyone. The necessary outcome of this identity grouping and pigeon-holing is inevitable judgment and subsequently division and that is most assuredly a lose-lose scenario for our nation.
So many of the prayers offered up during this powerful prayer march of ACTION were beyond inspiring, but the closing words of Vice President, Mike Pence spoke the loudest to me. The Vice President concluded his own prayer with these final words "... And when you pray, pray with confidence." Prayer has always been such a huge part of my life, as I have from a very young age prayed with earnest and devotion for the sick and dying. But I have to admit, with my own father's recent passing, I had begun to lose my confidence in prayer. In part because my father was so healthy for the majority of life and because he had decided to fight his cancer ... because he was doing so well post-chemo and radiation, even post surgery. Then suddenly out of nowhere, he took an immediate turn for the worse and suddenly, he was just gone. These words from the Vice President, to me, were a much needed and timely reminder not to lose my own faith in the amazing power of prayer, and moreover, that I should once agian begin praying with confidence.
You can watch a video of this unifying event here: 2020 Prayer March, with Franklin Graham
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