Why 30 000 pastors are invading Washington, DC, with prayer

Originally published in Charisma News

UnitedCry DC16 is one of many calls to prayer, repentance and spiritual awakening rising in the nation. The difference with this one is that thousands of pastors from sea to shining sea are leading the charge from America’s capital.

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Inspired by Joel 2, the strategically timed prayer event will see pastors making intercession at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. At the same time, Lou Engle’s TheCall Azusa will gather tens of thousands of passionate believers to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on April 9, also the 110th anniversary of the Azusa Street Outpouring.

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Lewis Hogan, the visionary behind UnitedCry, says he believes the two events could serve as a catalyst to unify the body of Christ through prayer.

“From a place of unity, pastors and Christian leaders join together in prayers of repentance, revival and responsibility for our nation,” Hogan says. He describes UnitedCry as a multi-ethnic, multidenominational, multigenerational expression of men and women who will cry out for God’s plans and purposes for America in this hour. “Out of this place of a unified cry, we are believing for a mobilised prayer movement of pastors and their congregations to shape our nation at the local, state and federal level.”

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Hogan hopes the event will draw 30 000 pastors from across the country, representing a tithe of America’s churches and creating a tipping point that leads to measurable change. As spiritual leaders of the land, he believes Christian leaders can set an example of humility and brokenness before God at UnitedCry.

Despite the emphasis on pastors, Hogan is calling all believers to join in through live streaming. While pastors carry the vision for UnitedCry, the event also aims to mobilise intercessors as the enforcers of God’s will through targeted prayer for a nation in crisis.

“From all sides, biblical values that formed the foundation of our nation are under attack,” Hogan says. “In the formation period of our nation, it was the pastors and church that played a prominent role in the battle for freedom. America’s problems are not political but spiritual.”

“We are in a Joel 2 moment in the history of our nation. When a nation is in crisis, Scripture is clear about the solution. Joel 2 states, ‘Call a sacred assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders.’ It is in that place of gathering that the cry arises for mercy. Our cry is for God to show His mercy on this land and send great revival and awakening.”