Surge in Prayer Movement During Crisis

The prayer movement escalated over critical months during the COVID-19 closures of churches and other ministries. Pastors and church leaders joined businesses and other organizations in devising meaningful ways to stay connected in intercession, including livestream services, prayer calls, and small-group online gatherings.

People who would not otherwise have attended a prayer meeting found themselves eagerly engaging in prayer from home. One pastor said, “In the past we could never get this many people to gather together in the church building for prayer!”

David Butts, chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee, knew that prayer was at the cutting edge of what God was doing, when, as he describes it, “I found myself on nine prayer calls in one day on a variety of social media platforms.”

The urgency of the hour and the crying out for revival intensified in the Church during the national crisis. “Social distancing” inspired increased participation in already established prayer calls, using new conference calling lines, Facebook Live, Zoom, and other online venues.

• Intercessors for America (IFA) added several prayer calls each month beyond their monthly First Friday call. Dave Kubal, president of IFA, says their prayer call participation averaged 60,000 people on a call, compared to 10,000 in previous months. Their calls included interviews with government leaders tasked with navigating COVID-19.
• One Cry, an organization devoted to calling the church to pray for spiritual awakening, ramped up their once-a-week prayer call to three days a week during the virus crisis.
• Unite 714 was birthed as a strategic way to unite and activate the worldwide Church to pray for both the eradication of the coronavirus and spiritual awakening.
• America Prays held 21 days of fasting and prayer during March and April, using Facebook Live each night to pray for the crisis to end and for the increase of the Church.
• The National Day of Prayer broadcast reached 445,000 on Facebook, and had a potential reach of hundreds of millions on worldwide television, and hundreds of thousands on radio.

Many churches also reported increased participation in virtual prayer meetings as they unified in prayer for peace and healing.

–Taken from Prayer Connect magazine.