String of Hurricanes Opportunity for Power of Prayer, Ministry Says
by Allie Martin
September 20, 2004
(AgapePress) - An official with the National Prayer Committee says there are specific ways for Christians to pray during times of crises.Associated Press reports that churches in Louisiana were spared major damage from Hurricane Ivan last week, so they are sending money, food, equipment, and even teams of volunteer cooks and timber cutters into the wrecked Florida Panhandle. New Orleans Catholic Archbishop Alfred Hughes already has assured Pensacola Bishop John Ricard of financial help from the church in New Orleans, with more assistance to follow within days.
An arm of Louisiana's 758,000 Southern Baptists prepared to set out from Hammond for the Alabama-Florida line with a mobile feeding unit that can provide 20,000 meals a day. And Methodists prepared to transport tons of supplies into the Panhandle from the denomination's global relief supply depot. Storm victim kits include "flood buckets" packed with cleaning supplies, personal hygiene kits, bedding kits and other supplies.
Meanwhile churches recovering from Ivan continue to meet amid the debris. And President Bush toured Ivan-stricken areas Sunday offering prayer and promises of federal aid.
In addition to these tangible efforts to help in the aftermath of the storms, Cheryl Sacks of the National Prayer Committee says believers from across the country were mobilized to pray during Hurricanes Frances, Charley, and Ivan. She says now is the time to respond in prayer for those affected by the recent hurricanes.
Organized prayer campaigns, she says, were effective in Florida. "We had asked people to pray specifically ... that Hurricane Frances would subside [and] we saw that happen before our very eyes," the prayer warrior explains. "Although the devastation [from Frances] was great, it was not nearly as great as it could have been. Actually, Hurricane Frances was downgraded from a Category 4 to a Category 2 storm."
The NPC spokeswoman says believers must not neglect the opportunity to pray for victims in times of crises. "It's important during [those times] that we pray -- and there is an immediacy and urgency required during times of crises," she emphasizes. "It's not that we can put this off until this evening when we have our normal prayer time; God is calling us to stop what we're doing and to get on our knees and to pray, because He answers prayer."
Sacks encourages Christians to also assist relief agencies, many of which are short on supplies for outreach efforts. The National Prayer Committee, founded in 1979, organizes the annual National Day of Prayer.
