T-R PHOTOS BY NICK BAUR — Christians from multiple denominations and churches across the community gathered in the Marshalltown Cultural Center Thursday to recognize the National Day of Prayer, which takes place the first Thursday of May each year.
Christians representing a list of different denominations and churches from around the area descended on the Marshalltown Cultural Center Thursday evening to take part in an annual service recognizing the National Day of Prayer in the United States.
The National Day of Prayer is a yearly observance that takes place on the first Thursday of May. Created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The day is intended to encourage people of all faiths to come together and pray for the nation and its leaders.
Each year, the President of the United States issues a proclamation calling on Americans to pray on this day, and it has become a way for people to express their faith and seek divine guidance for the challenges facing their communities.
This year’s theme was Pray Fervently in Righteousness and Avail Much, derived from James 5:16b, which reads “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
Pastors, government officials, and local leaders all came before an eager crowd on Thursday to share scripture, join in singing gospel music, and naturally, pray for the city, schools, churches, and people of Marshalltown.
Worshipers enjoyed gospel music and prayed for the city, schools, churches, and people of Marshalltown during the National Day of Prayer celebration.
“As we walk through the city, we know that your spirit is dwelling in us. When we’re walking through the city, wherever you’re walking through the city with us. As your heart is seeing the city, seeing the brokenness of the city, seeing the pain of the city, we know your heart is breaking,” said Mosaic Church Pastor Steve Bensema during the service. “God, give me a heart to invest into the city, not to pull away from it, but to invest in it, to seek its goodness, to seek the peace, to seek the welfare of Marshalltown and Marshall County, this region that we live in.”
As Restore Church Pastor David Foix said, the National Day of Prayer provides an important opportunity for local worshippers to gather and share in a uniting experience.
“I think it’s important for all the different churches and believers to come together because it provides a lot of unity, to see each other, to hear different voices,” Foix said. “It’s important as a city for the churches to set a tone of what unity can look like.”
For Foix, and many other attendees of the National Day of Prayer ceremony, individual and community prayer helps to maintain a spiritual connection with the divine, empowering a dialogue within themselves to share with others.
“It’s a daily, constant thing that reminds me that I am not alone,” Foix said. “I’m connected to the God of the universe who has all the power and all the knowledge, and that’s how I connect with him… It crosses all divides, all times, everything. It’s how I connect with God, and it’s how I asked God to work on behalf of myself to bless others and to encourage others.”
While pastors and community members lead the crowd in song and prayer, many worshippers could be seen becoming visibly overcome with emotion and joining in with enthusiastic exclamations throughout.
“Prayer engages our spirit,” Foix said. “It’s from that, that we gain a lot of power. As we talked tonight, the Holy Spirit, he’s our comforter, he’s our guide. He brings knowledge, he reveals truth, and when we pray, we’re engaging that part of us for those things to kind of flow out.”
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Contact Nick Baur at 641-753-6611 or nbaur@timesrepublican.com.
- T-R PHOTOS BY NICK BAUR — Christians from multiple denominations and churches across the community gathered in the Marshalltown Cultural Center Thursday to recognize the National Day of Prayer, which takes place the first Thursday of May each year.
- Worshipers enjoyed gospel music and prayed for the city, schools, churches, and people of Marshalltown during the National Day of Prayer celebration.
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Worshippers gather to commemorate National Day of Prayer - Marshalltown Times Republican
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