Weblog: Will Attacks Bring Revival?
World kneels in prayer—and asks hard questions about plans of God and man
Ted Olsen | posted 9/01/2001 12:00AM
On day one, the world watched fireballs and smoke. The focus was on "big" things: the second-tallest buildings in America and the world's largest office building attacked by jumbo jets. On day two, things got a lot smaller—we started to see faces and see names of those who were gone, striking our collective psyches in a completely different way. What will day three bring? What will the next year bring?
Several evangelical leaders say they sense revival in the land, reports the Associated Press. Continuing a trend of I-told-you-so prophetic voices, U.S. Prayer Center director Eddie Smith said God had told him revival was on its way, but "served … on a platter of ruin." Pastor Dutch Sheets of Springs Harvest Fellowship in Colorado Springs tells Family News in Focus, "Absolutely, this will drive the nation to prayer. … Typically in the past, these sorts of things (were) wake-up calls." Pat Robertson and other religious leaders are calling for Christians to pray that the tragedy would lead to revival, the AP reports.
In Colorado Springs, the World Prayer Center closed to the public following the attacks, but apparently it's open again. World Prayer Center Pastor Wesley Tullis tells Family News in Focus the center is trying to "coordinate strategic prayer for objectives around the world. "Unless we mobilize the Church of America to be prayer-based, we're going to continue to see ongoing challenges that aren't met by any wisdom of government alone, or any wisdom of the military," he says.
The World Prayer Center may be trying to coordinate the exact prayers churches are offering, but they certainly don't need to mobilize churches to pray. Around the country and around the world, churches continue vigils. New York City churches are packed with people who are shocked, silent, and don't know where else to go, In Chicago, interfaith services offered prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic. In Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law told parishioners (including the governor and the mayor and the speaker of the House), "Blest are you who are weeping; for you shall laugh." In Pittsburgh, parishioner Lois Stauff says she returned to her Catholic parish for the first time in years. "I couldn't give blood because I'm not able to. I couldn't go to Washington, D.C., or New York. This is the only thing I can contribute." In Washington's New Bethel Baptist Church, Suzette Thomas prayed for children, saying, "While children see buildings fall, let them know that you, God, are still in control." In Ottawa, Christ Church's Shane Parker preached, "These evil acts are an affront to God and a violation of God's will for all mankind." In Europe, American expatriates attempted to unite together in prayer.
Mark Oppenheimer writes in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that these religious gatherings are a necessary part of crisis situations. "Our first instinct as we wait for reassurance that our friends are safe is to find other people who are also waiting. And then, when we hear the worst, we will want to mourn with others. And often, we will want to mourn in a place of faith, with people of faith."
Though attendance at the nightly vigils may wane, some future meetings will certainly be prominent. As Weblog is writing, Bush is declaring Friday "a national day of prayers and remembrance." Apparently as part of that, evangelist (and CT founder) Billy Graham will be preaching at a public memorial service at the National Cathedral tomorrow at noon. Meanwhile, the National Association of Evangelicals is organizing its member churches and denominations for a united National Day of Mourning and Prayer this Sunday.
September (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45
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