This weekend I travelled to Charleston, SC to attend The Response: A Call to Prayer for our Nation. Somewhere between 4,000 – 7,000 individuals (my guestimate) from all denominations, all races, all socio-economic status and all age groups gathered to simply petition our heavenly father to work His plan in our nation.

The six hour event was divided into five specific areas, where the crowd individually and corporately prayed for each of these items to take place in our individual lives, the lives of our families, our local communities and our country:

• Repentance
• Reconciliation
• Revival
• Reformation
• Refreshing belief in Jesus Christ

South Carolina is now the third state where such a large, diverse group has gathered specifically for the purpose of prayer and fasting has taken place.  The first was in Texas and the second was in Louisiana.

While there were two Governors who spoke, this event was NOT political.  The event was free to the public and there was no indication of who sponsored this event, which certainly wasn’t inexpensive, as the Charleston Coliseum was rented out for the entire day.  With the exception of the two Governors, I am not sure any names or organizations were even mentioned, and dozens of individuals participated on stage.

At the outset, the leader said (I am paraphrasing), “Heaven is going to look like this – a coat of many colors: all races will be present, all ages will be present, and all socio-economic statuses we experience on earth will be present.  We are asking everyone to come into this place in a spirit of worship – to leave your titles, your accomplishments, your organizations, and your agenda’s outside this place.  Today we are simply here to see what God has for us, as we divide the day up into these five categories (listed above).”

To this point, I have been unable to find many videos of Saturday’s event.  It is possible to see a few short clips, as well as pictures by reviewing The Response Facebook Page.

It should be noted that the audience was 15 – 20 % black, and those who participated on stage were 35 – 40 % Black.  There were numerious hispanics, as well as other ethnic groups present as well.  I simply give that estimation (mine) of the statistics, so you know it was a diverse setting, which is required for the five goals to honestly be attained.  Also, some of the most poignant prayers came from the youth and young adults, ages 15 – 25, who were honoring to the older generations but also recognizing how much work is ahead of their generation.  Out of the mouth of babes often comes the greatest wisdom – as they have not yet been conformed to the things which hold us back.

I am going to try and summarize each point in just a few sentences:

• Repentance: Today our society celebrates that which is evil, and condemns that which is virtuous and we humbly seek forgiveness for allowing this to take place in our culture, on our watch.
• Reconciliation: Today we have allowed our society to become more divided than ever – by age groups, by socio-economic class and by race. We recognize that God created each of us as individuals, with specific gifts and talents to be used to benefit all in society – and we pray for the walls between the generations, between the classes and between the races to be broken.
• Revival: Revival does not happen for unbelievers. It happens within the hearts and communities of those who already call on the name of Jesus Christ.  Our nation is filled with dry bones, and we humbly pray for God to blow a mighty wind on the dry bones of The American Church – to wake us up so that we might be faithful to His calling on our lives, in our families, in our communities, our state and our nation.
• Reformation: We don’t seek the reformation of others – we seek the reformation of our own hearts, families, churches communities, states, and nation – that we might place virtue above all else. Without fixing our own lives, families, and churches first – we cannot have the impact which is required on our culture.
• Refreshing: This was simply a time of praise and worship. Many went to the “mosh pit,” or the front of the room to lift hands, and dance before the Lord.  It truly was a coat of many colors – where the things which divide were not present.

Because of the work I have been engaged in, both through the Social Conservative movement, and specifically helping to put on The National Security Summits, which are being conducted in many of the early primary states, I had the privilege to be asked to participate in the prayers from the stage, specifically to pray for the National Security of our Country.  Honestly, because I had not personally met any of the organizers before, I chose to simply go and participate as an individual.  Observation before participation has become something I have learned, sometimes the hard way, in the last four years.  After attending the event, there is no question in my heart, mind or spirit that this effort is Spirit led, and it gives me great hope – because the numbers of those whose hearts are pure, and are praying for our country – both inside our borders and outside our borders are growing.  I believe the growth is becoming exponential.  When The Response comes to your state – I would highly recommend not only attending, but doing all you can to help promote it, and get people there.

What this means for our future may not be what we expect or even desire.  God’s ways, actions and timetables are generally not ours.  He is however at work, and we have a lot to look forward to in the future.

In closing, I want to share two things:

• Another area of hope I have – but also a sliver of disappointment. I have had the privilege of traveling South Carolina quite a bit in the last 2 years, as a result of both High Frontier, and helping on a U.S. Senate Campaign.  As a result – rarely do I go to such a large event where I do not see several people I already know.  On Saturday, in such a large crowd, I spent the day with a good friend of mine, who also relocated to South Carolina from Virginia.  He drove from Myrtle Beach, where he now resides, to invest his day at The Response.  He was the only other individual who I personally know who I saw there.  In a way, it saddened me that I did not see more of my evangelical brothers and sisters, who I already know, who desire to see these five points achieved in our culture, in our lifetimes, invest a day in this effort.  Obviously, it could be simply because there was an unawareness.  This leads me to think of one of the points of the day – the need for our individual churches to stop being territorial, to get outside of our boxes, and unite with other believers outside of the four walls of our own church.  United, we can impact culture but divided we will not.  On the flip side – it also gives me great hope – because the pool of individuals who The Holy Spirit is working on is far larger than we know, or likely can even imagine!
• Governor Bobby Jindal shared his testimony, and it was phenomenal. I was hoping that I would be able to find it on YouTube, and while I couldn’t find Saturday’s – I did find the testimony he gave at The Response in Baton Rouge.  It is very similar – and I would encourage everyone to invest the time to watch it.  You can watch Bobby Jindal’s testimony by clicking here.

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