Area celebrates National Day of Prayer

at Diamond Park

5/5/06

It was 10 minutes before Shadows of the Sun’s second show. About 50 people were gathered in Diamond Park in Meadville to hear them play as part of National Day of Prayer. There was one problem. Bass player Zechariah Ring didn’t have a piece of equipment he needed to amplify his praise and the band didn’t know what to do.

They prayed.

And sure enough the prayer was answered when they were able to reach someone who brought the needed equipment.

“You meet God halfway he’s going to come and be with you,” said 24-year-old Perry Moore, who is the lead singer of the band.

Moore was just part of the mass of people embracing prayer across America during the 55th annual event on Thursday.

The tradition predates the founding of the United States when the Continental Congress issued a proclamation setting aside a day of prayer in 1775. In 1952, Congress established an annual day of prayer and, in 1988, that law was amended, designating the National Day of Prayer as the first Thursday in May.

Two services were conducted in Diamond Park, one at noon and a later service at 7 p.m. aimed at the youth.

“We pray that you just move, Father, throughout our city, throughout the youth,” Dennis See of Altar International House of Prayer told the crowd. “That your spirit will be very, very present here in this place. When people drive even into the county they feel you, they sense you, they sense peace, they know something’s different about this place.”

See organized the event this week after finding out nobody was setting up the prayer services this year.

“I really believe personally it’s about taking our city back, our nation back for the things of the Lord and turn things back to God. This nation was founded on godly principles and I think we’ve gotten extremely far away from these things,” said See. “I think even in our own area the meth labs are getting out of control, violence and some of the things that go on. Even in my own neighborhood, I live by the high school, and that’s a relatively safe area, I can’t tell you how many times tires have been slashed, windows have been broken, some kids were just out in the alley beating the windshield out of a car with baseball bats, just crazy stuff.”

See believes that if people turn from their wicked ways and pray, our nation can be a better place.

“As we begin to pray and seriously go after God, he’s going to hear our cries and prayers. I just want people to pray. ... I really pray for churches as a whole, the church of Meadville.”

Moore said he knows firsthand about the power of pray — it’s the reason he formed his band.

“I’ve been singing now for seven and a half weeks and it’s God-oriented because before I got the band started I was like, ‘God, what do you want me to do? I’m tired of having faith and I’m just wanting to walk with you. Show me the ministry you want me in,’ ” said Moore, who attends Victory Family Worship Center in Conneaut Lake.

Moore said God told him to start a band.

“I was playing guitar and I was singing by myself and a couple people kept saying, ‘Go out and do this. Go out and do this.’ And I’m like, ‘No. I’m scared. I’m nervous. I’m nervous to sing in front of people.’”

Then he told God, “If you want me to be in ministry to you take the fear of singing away and He took it away and now I’m doing this. Touching people’s lives makes me feel glorified because it’s totally for him.”

“The power of prayer is strong. It’s always about staying in the Word because the Word is the truth,” said Moore, whose band also includes Jon Armel on drums and Ryan Weaver on electric guitar.



Eric Reinagel can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at ereinagel@meadvilletribune.com