NOTE: Jackson’s Clark and Juanita Shaw participated in the National Prayer March, Saturday, September 26, and wrote NEWS/TALK 101.5 FM, 93.1 FM & WNWS.COM about their experience.
Several weeks ago there was a call from Franklin Graham, leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, to pray for our nation. That was it. To pray. There was no political agenda , no concerts or speeches planned. It was simply Americans coming together from all across the nation to collectively pray for our country.
We first learned of PRAYER MARCH 2020 through BGEA’s Tennesse Representative Garry Martin who also serves as pastor of Jackson First Assembly. He and his wife Kathy were planning to go and we also decided to make the trip. Actually, we felt we were being drawn to go.
We had the privilege to serve as City Coordinators for the BGEA’s Decision Tennessee Tour held here in Jackson in 2017. Jackson was one of the five cities that was selected by the ministry to host an event. During the five months preceding the event we were able to work with and get to know a number of BGEA staff and the breath and depth of this incredible ministry here in our country and around the world.
But one might ask, why we felt compelled to go? We went because our nation is in trouble. A spiritual darkness has come across our land. Organizations like Antifa and Black Lives Matter are working to tear the country apart. There are spiritual and racial divides. A pandemic is affecting the entire world and we are in the middle of a presidential election, and filling a critical seat on the Supreme Court. We are literally one generation away from a socialist society!. We wanted to wrap these issues in prayer. We knew there were millions of Americans who felt the same way and were looking for the opportunity to lift up our nation to the Lord. This was it!
We arrived at the National Mall about 9 a.m., Saturday morning, about three hours before the official start. There were already thousands gathering at the Lincoln Memorial. We were able to approach the great statue of Abraham Lincoln and read the words of the Gettysburg Address which are engraved on the walls of the memorial. We also made it a point to stand at the very spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood as he gave the world changing speech “I Have A Dream.” We felt we were going to be a part of another world changing event again on this day.
We were able to also experience the BGEA volunteer area where hundreds of volunteers received instructions and thousands of American and Christian flags to pass out to those attending the event. BGEA Vice President Steve Rhoades, one of the event organizers, reminded everyone we were here to pray and show the love of Christ to the nation.
Prior to the first prayer at the Lincoln Memorial, we found a seat at the right corner of the reflecting pool. From there we could see all the way down the National Mall as thousands of people made their way toward the Lincoln Memorial.
Approximately 50,000 people had pre-registered for the event. Very quickly it became obvious that many more were gathering … tens of thousands more from every race, denomination, age and state. Every state of the Union was represented at the massive gathering.
Just before noon the song, “Blessed Assurance “ arose from the crowd. It was beautiful to hear the voices before us, behind, and all around us.
Michael W Smith lead us in several songs of worship. One was “This Is How I Fight My Battles” whose words really resinated with us, “I may look like I am surrounded but I’m surrounded by you.” That’s exactly the feeling we had as we looked at the thousands who love Christ surrounding us.
At 12 noon Franklin Graham’s voice welcomed all to the March. He then said we had a surprise which was a visit from Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen who came to the podium to offer greetings from the President and a prayer for our nation.
Franklin Graham then gave instructions on the seven prayer stops along the 2 mile route, ending at the United States Capital. Then Franklin lead everyone in our first prayer focusing on “humbling ourselves in repentance and asking God to forgive our sins and heal our land.”
All along the way the Prayer March was filled with countless people gathering in small groups and fervently praying.
The next stop was the World War II Memorial. This was a large and impressive memorial that had been built since our last visit to D.C. The focus here was “our military, police and other law-enforcement, their families and security for the nation.”
The next stop was the Washington Monument where everyone prayed for “the salvation of the lost, renewed strength in our families, solutions to the coronavirus pandemic and abortion.”
The fourth stop was the White House and prayers “for the president and vice president and their families.”
The fifth stop was the Museum of Africian American History and Culture. Prayer was “for compassion, kindness towards, respect and reconciliation between races and healing in communities torn by violence and injustice.”
The sixth stop was the National Archives where we prayed for “religious freedom and for churches to have boldness, to stand firm with the Word of God, and preach to Jesus Christ in a troubled world.”
The last stop was the US Capitol where we prayed “for Congress and other leaders at the national, state and local levels; the Supreme Court and the judges across the nation.”
We also had the opportunity to spend time at another outstanding Christian event taking place on the National Mall called THE RETURN which was lead by best selling author Jonathan Cahn. This event featured over 30 speakers including Anne Graham Lotz, Tony Perkins and Mike Lindell, the My Pillow guy. We also participated in worship music lead by Danny Gokey, known for the song “Waymaker.” Thousands attended in person and 10 million watched from around the world.
We were well aware of the possibilities of running into groups with opposing views and we did see one small group of about 50 people in a parade chanting “Black Lives Matter.” Thankfully there were no violent clashes with demonstrators.
The following day we were able to tour Museum Of The Bible along with many other participants who were on the walk. We think it’s a must see when in D.C.
Juanita’s takeaway: When trying to decide whether to go or not I realized that we live in a dangerous climate right now, in fact, some advised us not to go. We made our decision and I may have thought I was brave but what I saw were even braver individuals who were not ashamed of their faith and were willing to stand firm on the Truth of God and His word. It was one of the most powerful days of my life. I am different because I went.
Clark’s takeaway: How pleasing it must have been to Almighty God to hear the prayers of over 100,000 people of the faith crying out to God to heal, restore, forgive, redeem, and love one another. Finally, throughout the day I was continually reminded about the scripture from 2nd Chronicles 7 vs 14 which says “ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
To learn more and watch the entire event just search online for PRAYER MARCH 2020.
Respectfully Submitted by Clark and Juanita Shaw (photo)
