“It was a miracle,” said Pastor Zolile Dayimani at the encouraging number of people who attended a unique united prayer meeting in Daku Hall, Zwide, last Sunday (January 29 2017) despite being invited at very short notice.
More than 50 pastors from different denominations who did not normally meet together were assembled on the stage and more than 500 people gathered in the hall to pray about issues of local and national concern, said Dayimani, who coordinated the prayer event which was inspired by an instruction from God to a local pastor.
Promotion of the prayer day was done entirely through social media, starting less than a week before the event and some of those who attended had heard about it only an hour before. He said since the meeting many people have expressed appreciation for the event, saying it was what the nation needed, and that they should keep praying together and schedule the next prayer day “sooner, rather than later”.
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During the meeting, from 4pm to 6pm, Nelson Mandela Bay pastors led the congregation in prayers on topics including men taking their place as spiritual heads of their homes, revival, godly governance, youth, the economy, prisons, fraud and corruption, drugs and gangsterism, and the salvation of souls. The pastors all honoured a request to refrain from preaching — merely reading a scripture and praying on their assigned topic.
Early in the meeting Pastor Xola Goqo shared how God had twice spoken to him in an audible voice during midnight encounters in December last year. God had said He was aware that people were praying in their different churches but He wanted them to come together to pray and intercede for what He was about to do among them. He said God said a rain was coming which would be like a flood and would be a sign of the healing of the land — it would usher in a great harvest and a time of restoration and joy for God’s people in South Africa, Africa and the world.
Dayimani said attendees of the prayer gathering included people from outside the townships, and from different language groups. Among those who came to the township for the event were Pastors Jimmy Crompton, Jerome Liberty and Godfrey White, who respectively led prayers on men, the economy, and drugs and gangsterism.
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Normally it took invitations by prominent outside speakers, or special government events, to get so many pastors and diverse congregants together at one venue. But this prayer day was different as it was a local church event organised by the local church. The fact that people responded so well showed that it was a genuine kingdom call and that “everyone wants unity”, he said.
Commenting on the absence of white pastors and congregants at the gathering, he said it was possibly because of the short notice that had been given of the event via social media, and the nervousness of some white people about visiting the township. He said everybody would be invited again to the next prayer event and it was hoped that people would come from all areas of the metro. Safety and security measures would be in place.
