Fanning the Flames of Prayer

On the Sunday following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President George Bush was the first to show up for the morning worship service at St. John’s Lafayette Square.

Carrying with him his well-worn Bible, the president took a seat inside the historic Episcopal church across from the White House, recalls Rev. Tony Campbell, who was serving at the church at that time.

“I had a chance later to ask him how he got through that time after the attacks,” Campbell told a group of people attending the recent “Fanning the Flame” West Michigan Regional Prayer Summit.

“The president told me he got through it by praying,” said Campbell. “Without it, he wouldn’t have made it.”

Campbell, director of missional engagement for the Reformed Church in America and a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, was the kick-off speaker for the conference held Nov. 7-8 at Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Holland. The overall focus of his presentation—and, similarly, the summit—was on the power, necessity and significance of prayer.

"The primary purpose of prayer is to reshape us into the image and likeness of God," said Campbell.

"Prayer is God's gift to us. He saved us; prayer helps us recognize what God has done for us. We pray to a God who is bigger than all of our problems."

The conference in Holland was one of 12 regional summits the CRC has held since the denomination’s first North American prayer summit in Los Angeles in 2012. The Reformed Church in America is also helping to sponsor these events.

The CRC and RCA will be holding another North American prayer summit next April 13-15 at All Nations CRC, located in the Los Angeles area.

Coincidentally, another regional prayer summit was held at the Midland Park CRC in Midland Park, N.J., at the same time as the one in Holland. Both the CRC and RCA were represented.

“There was a wonderful diversity and balance of those who attended, including Anglo, African American, Asian, and Latino,” says Rev. John Alegra, one of the coordinators of the summit in New Jersey.

“There was a wonderful diversity and balance of those who attended, including Anglo, African American, Asian, and Latino,” says Rev. John Alegra, one of the coordinators of the summit.

Another summit was held at the end of October in Sioux Center, Iowa.

‘God is on the Move’

"God is on the move widely around the world, and also in the CRC and RCA," said Rev. Moses Chung, director of Christian Reformed Home Missions, at the start of the conference in Holland.

"I ask you to open your hearts and lives and God will pour out his spirit to all who seek him humbly."

About 400 people attended the summit in Holland—more than attended the event last year. Chung says this is a reflection that “there is definitely a growing hunger and desire to learn and commit to prayer in our region.”

In his talk, Campbell emphasized that prayer isn’t for us to petition God for things. Rather, it is to fire us up to get closer to our Creator and to do his work in the world.

"We pray that we remember when we walk out those doors tonight that we can love others by sharing the gospel.

"Remember, we need to pray season in season out, day in and day out, realizing always that redemption happens.... When we pray, we know God is there for us and will catch us when we jump."

After he spoke, people broke up into small groups of prayer, taking phrases from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians and sharing their thoughts.

Soft words filled the sanctuary; some people cried, some dropped to their knees to pray, and others put their arms around those who needed comfort.

On Saturday morning prayer was followed by a large group presentation, breakout sessions, and ended with another large group session.

“The organizers of the Great Lakes Regional Prayer Summit are praising the Lord for his abundant goodness, faithfulness, and his sweet yet powerful presence that he poured out upon us as we gathered across denominational lines, overcame racial and generational barriers to join hands and hearts in fervent prayer and heartfelt worship to Jesus Christ,” says Mary Sterenberg, one of the coordinators of the event.

She recalls how one person came in off the street and asked for prayer.

Moses Chung was the keynote speaker at the October prayer summit in Sioux Center, which was also a joint CRC/RCA effort and drew more than 100 people from from six different classes.

His words helped to sum up what the summits have been about, says Barb Hibma, Classis Heartland prayer coordinator.

“When the sessions ended, Moses took 15 minutes for thoughts/comments on what people would take away from the conference,” says Hibma.

“One of the worship leaders came to the microphone and stated, ‘We have never experienced such a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. As we were here leading worship, the presence of God was leading us through the audience’."