Churches Cry for Nat'l Revival at Lincoln Memorial
WASHINGTON -- Thousands of Christians from more than a hundred churches around the Washington D.C. area gathered at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, Monday, to pray for the city and national revival.
Lon Solomon, senior pastor of the McLean Bible Church, declared near the start of the Washington Prayer Gathering its plan and goal.
"We are here today to confess our sins and the sins of our churches and the sins of our city to the Lord Jesus Christ," the mega-church pastor said, "and then to pray that in response, the way He promised, that He will fall on our city."
D.C. is such a city of contrasts, with those at the world's very pinnacles of power located just miles from the some of the homeless and most poverty-stricken.
Joshua Symonette, a campus pastor for National Community Church, one of the area's largest fellowships, helped organize the Washington Prayer Gathering.
"The U.S. government is headquartered here. But then you also do have, on the lower end, you do have families and communities who are suffering, who are poor and who have needs," Pastor Symonette told CBN News. "And so we want to close that gap if we can and we believe the Church is the key to doing it."
After a boisterous time of worship that helped fight back the dampening effect of the day's showers, the thousands of believers on hand broke up into small groups, fell to their knees, repented and prayed.
CBN News heard one woman say, "Lord, we pray that you would radically change our thoughts, our words and our actions to be Your thoughts, Your words and Your actions."
"Forgive the fear, the lack of courage, the worry that keeps our lips closed," another woman in another group cried out.
Pastor Symonette summed up, "If we can accomplish something great here by bringing churches together here in the nation's capital, were hoping it'll overflow into the rest of the country."
