Australia Prays – August 22nd
Church Leaders are calling the Nation to Prayer for the Covid Crisis under the banner of AUSTRALIA PRAYS Sunday 22nd August 2021
The team at the Australian National Day of Prayer & Fasting, in consultation with many church leaders and prayer networks, including Bishop Philip Huggins and the National Council of Churches, is calling Australia to united prayer in the light of the current Covid-19 crisis.
We are drawn to pray together across the land, given the current level of need and distress. Our theme is found in this beautiful liturgical prayer: “Lord have mercy - Jesus have mercy”. Inspiration for this prayer is found in the story of the blind beggar in Luke 18:35 and his cry to Jesus for healing.
This simple prayer for mercy is found throughout the Scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments.
“Our eyes look to the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy.” - Psalm 123:2
Participants are of course encouraged to add to this prayer, and also to fast as they feel led.
Those who inspired and are organising the event acknowledge the division that Covid-19 and Australia’s response to it has caused, even within the church. Nevertheless, they are calling for Christians to set these conversations aside in order to seek God’s mercy at this crucial time.
“This situation is very frustrating for everybody,” Ps Wayne Alcorn, National President of Australian Christian Churches, has said of the crisis. “However, we need to rise up and remain Christlike, gracious, and beacons of hope in the midst of this heaviness that pervades our society.”
Wayne Alcorn wrote these words on 15th July, in a widely read letter that floated the idea of “a National Day of Prayer if we don’t see things start to turn around quickly”. Ultimately, this letter became a significant prompt for the organisers of Australia Prays. National prayer events that took place in 2020, one which Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended, was also an inspiration for the event.
Event organisers are cognisant of Australia’s need at this time. “Everything happening draws us now to deeper prayer,” says Bishop Philip Huggins, the Chairman of the National Council of Churches in Australia. Jodie Pickard of Love Adelaide longs for Christians around Australia to “all come together in prayer for our nation and for no more harm to come to our people.”
We encourage you to pray in your own church and in your own way at this time. To facilitate a national prayer focus, the team at the National Day of Prayer and Fasting are providing the following prayer resources and opportunities.
- Every day from Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd August 2021, a daily devotion will be sent out to those who register. Each daily devotion will include a prayer from a different church leader. Register Here:
- Every night at 8pm-9pm (AEST) from Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd August 2021, a nightly prayer call will take place with input from a different church leader each night. Register Here:
- On Sunday 22nd August 2021, from 9am – 9pm (AEST), the National Day of Prayer and Fasting team will host a Zoom prayer call featuring church leaders and Indigenous Christian leaders. Come for a short while or come for as long as you like. Let us join in prayer for our nation. Register Here:
