City residents mark Day of Prayer

A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered on the Municipal Building lawn on Thursday to mark the National Day of Prayer.

Between 30 and 40 individuals were on hand for the observance, led by Dr. Rick Jackson of Welcome Baptist Church.

“Our nation is in need of prayer,” he told those gathered for the day. “We appreciate you coming out here on this day of prayer,” he said, before encouraging those gathered to lift up in prayer national, state, and local leaders, as well as families and churches across the nation.

The theme for the national observance was “Lift up the word, light up the world,” which comes from II Samuel 22:29-31 of the Old Testament.

Dr. Dan Merritt, Surry Baptist Association director of missions, was the speaker for the gathering, presenting a short sermon taken from those scriptures.

He told those gathered on the lawn that David, King of Israel, was responsible for writing the passage of II Samuel his talk focused on, and that was appropriate because at the time, David had suffered at the hands of his enemies, and his nation was slipping into moral decline, much like Merritt believes America is today.

He said many people and institutions in the world today had introduced ungodly concepts to the United States, which he said undermined “the Christian foundation of our nation.”

He encouraged those in attendance not to embrace “moral ideology” which he believes is leading America to ruin.

“If you live a godly life, good things will happen,” he said. “If bad things happen, most likely, there was disobedience somewhere along the line.”

That principle, he said, is the same on a national level as it is on a personal level.

In his remarks, which often drew “Amens” and other affirmations from those gathered, Merritt exhorted his fellow believers not to go wary, not to give up in living life according to biblical standards, and not to give in to temptation to stop praying for the nation.

“In the end, evil will not win,” he said. “Those who are sinful will suffer.”

Part of staying faithful is to study and know the Bible.

“The Lord will direct our pathes through the Word of God,” he told them. “Too many Christians are in retreat. We have the courage to run and not be in retreat,” he said, and that courage comes from a daily walk with God and understanding of the Bible. “The best way we can live our lives is to live according to the Bible.”

Prior to Merritt’s message, City Commissioner Marie Wood read the mayor’s proclamation recognizing Thursday as National Day of Prayer, and Melissa Vernon led the audience in the “National Anthem” at the start of the service and in “God Bless America” at the conclusion.