Slots filled quickly at the first organizational meeting of 40 Days of Prayer for the 2018 schedule.
The fourth annual 40 Days of Prayer is set for Oct. 1 - Nov. 9. Many church affiliates attended the meeting Tuesday, where they called out days for which they wished to write the prayer.
In about 10 minutes, all 40 days were claimed by individuals. Each day includes a different topic that will be specifically prayed on. The 40 topics range from praying for peace, children, safety in schools, military, first responders, those in poverty and many more.
“This has been an opportunity for the past four years to get the community involved with prayer,” said Kent Jobe, senior minister at College Avenue Church of Christ. “There’s a lot of things that not everybody is going to line up on … but one thing we can all come together on is the avenue of prayer.”
Camden also participates in the 40 Days of Prayer, and both Ouachita and Union counties have decided to partner together for the first time this year. The topics for each day is the same, but Jobe noted that the prayers will be different and specific to each county.
For example, day 17’s topic is “Our student athletes,” which is the same day Fields of Faith takes place in Union County.
“That’s the one day we always dedicate to those folks because there will be several hundred kids at Memorial Stadium on that night,” Jobe said. “So on that day, two different counties are praying for the exact same topic and idea.”
One of the missions for the 40 Days of Prayer is to bring unity through prayer to Union County. One way this is accomplished is by keeping the prayers anonymous, Jobe said.
Each day includes a scripture, observation and prayer, written by the anonymous person that signed up for that day and topic.
Capt. Jason Perdieu, Corps officer with the Salvation Army, voiced how unique this mission is and how appreciative he was to be part of it. Perdieu and his wife moved to El Dorado nine weeks ago, he said.
“This does not happen at every other community,” Perdieu said. “I’ve told everybody, El Dorado is a huge secret. This is a mission field and to know the community comes together and we have the support of local government, revival is going to happen.”
El Dorado City Council member Judy Ward suggested meeting in the atrium of City Hall at noon Oct. 1 to kick of the 40 days with prayer. Ward noted that the prayer would be welcome to anyone who wants to participate.
“It binds us all together one more time before we get this all started,” Ward said. “And that’s a good time to start praying for what we’re doing.”
Jobe said the next meeting will be held Sept. 18, where they will finalize the schedule and discuss the prayer walk, which will be held Nov. 7.
Jobe said ideally, he would like to follow the same route that they did the first year. Last year, the prayer walk took place at the Municipal Auditorium because of rain.
The first year, the prayer walk began at the police station, then moved to City Hall, followed by the school district’s central office and ended at the Union County Courthouse.
“We’re blessed geographically to be able to hit four pretty big spots in walking distance,” he said.
A resolution was passed out at Tuesday’s meeting from Arkansas’ Gov. Asa Hutchinson for Oct. 1, recognizing the cause, “and all those participating in 40 Days of Prayer.”
“As a person of faith, I encourage those participating in 40 Days of Prayer to pray for leaders and those in positions of authority that their decisions will be guided by the hand of God,” Hutchinson said in the resolution. “May God bless you and your efforts to grow closer to Him as you daily pray.”
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].