The organisers of Australia’s National Day of Prayer and Fasting are once again calling for people around the world to fast and pray for the US.
Coming as US Vice-President Mike Pence visited Australia, the call for five days of prayer and fasting for the US – from 30th April to 4th May – coincides with America’s National Day of Repentance on 30th April and the US National Day of Prayer on 4th May. It is the fifth year in a row the prayer leaders have urged people to pray for the US.
Wesley Leake, a member of the NDOPF organising team said, God had done “amazing things in America since we began to pray and fast” but can do “greater things yet!”
“We in Australia believe it is our turn to stand in the gap for the nation of America and pray for revival and transformation for the USA through prayer and fasting according to II Chronicles 7:14. The new administration cannot bring revival to America, only God can do that. We in Australia are grateful for the protection that America gave Australia and the nations of the free world during World War II. The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought by USA in 1942, was the turning point in the Second World War for Australia. Thank God for America!”
Pastor Melissa Haigh, another member of the NDOPF organising team, cited an 1863 quote from 19th century US President Abraham Lincoln in which he called for a day of ‘”humiliation, prayer and fasting”, saying that while the country had “grown in numbers, wealth and power”, they had “forgotten God”.
“Unfortunately, today America is again in crisis because it has forgotten God,” Ps Haigh said. “America is in great danger from within and without. The situation in Australia is not much different. We in our nation have forgotten God and we are paying the price for our rebellion.”
Another member of the team, Warwick Marsh, said that Christian churches in Baghdad in Iraq would be joining Australians in praying and fasting for America. “[W]e are very humbled to receive such support from such a war-torn country. Together we can make a difference.”
Mr Pence, who met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his three day visit to Australia, was due to fly out of Sydney Monday morning.