Connectional Day of Prayer 2021: We Have Hope
By Paulette Coleman, Ph.D., Retired General Officer, for The Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors.
For nearly a decade, members of the AME Church—around the globe—have joined together for the annual Connectional Day of Prayer on April 13. The Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors, under the direction of the Rev. Dorisalene Hughes and the Rev. Dr. James Wade, have convened and participated in a variety of prayer events over the years including hour-long prayer vigils, opening churches from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for individual drop-in prayers, and full-fledged worship services. The Connectional Day of Prayer is an acknowledgment and reminder of the importance of prayer in our denomination and the life of believers.
Charles Spurgeon, known as the “Prince of Preachers” during the nineteenth century declared: “Now, my own soul’s conviction is, that prayer is the greatest power in the entire universe; that it has a more omnipotent force than electricity, gravity, or any other of those secret forces which men have called by names, but which they do not understand” (emphasis mine). Sixteenth-century reformer, Martin Luther stated that “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” In other words: prayer is the oxygen of the spiritual life and without it, we—as Christians—die. As 21st century Christians, the members of the Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors hold fast to the biblical admonition found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
The year 2020 was fraught with raging wildfires; tornados; a virulent pandemic; economic uncertainty with record-high unemployment, evictions, foreclosures, and food insecurity; racial reckoning; a resurgence of white supremacist ideology and ideologues; record-breaking voter turnout in the presidential election; and so much more; but, we are still here by the grace of God. Personally, this year also brought to many of us isolation, social distancing, quarantining, separation from loved ones, absence of human touch and face-to-face connection, a hiatus from in-person worship, and the inability to practice our traditional rituals attendant to death, dying, and funerals. It has been a very rough and tumultuous year!
The calendar has flipped to 2021; yet, the consequences and residuals of 2020 endure to further befuddle and torment us. Unfortunately, Christians are not exempt from the death, destruction, and despair of our times. Nevertheless, we have hope. The Holy Writ offers wisdom and consolation in difficult times based on hope. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.” Romans 8:24-25 says, “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” God is alive! God is real! The hope of God endures forever!
The Connectional Day of Prayer 2021 is designed to collectively remind us of our hope in Christ Jesus or as James 5:16-17 is stated in The Poverty and Social Justice Bible, “If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful and it can help a lot.” The bottom line or our source of strength is the more familiarly stated, “the fervent and effectual prayers of the righteous avail much.”
“Seven Prayers for Hope” (January 18, 2021) offer this Prayer for Hope: “Lord, help me to hear you saying, ‘I am your hope’ over all the other voices. Lord, your word says, you are the hope for the hopeless so I’m running to you with both hands stretched out and grabbing on to you. Fill me up with hope and give me a tangible reminder today that hope is an unbreakable spiritual lifeline (Hebrews 6:19-20). God, you know those things in my heart that I barely dare to hope for, today I give them to you, I trust them to you, and ask that you because I know that you can do more than I could ever guess, imagine or request in my wildest dreams (Eph 3:20). God, you are my hope and I trust you. Amen.”
Don’t forget to join The Bishop Sarah Frances Davis Covenant Keepers and Intercessors as we continue to stand in the gap for our Zion, the nation, and the world by hosting the Annual Connectional Day of Prayer on April 13, 2021, via Zoom. Please stay tuned for details in future articles. For more information, please contact the Rev. Dorisalene Hughes at dorisaleney@gmail.com.
