Generation Fire is Partnering with this Event - The Virtual Prayer Furnace will open up nightly and on the 22nd August we will Join in with the National Event.
Australia’s Churches Are Joining in Prayer for the Covid-19 Crisis and You Are Invited
By Kurt Mahlburg
Major denominations and prayer networks from across Australia have been drawn together to pray
for the crisis facing our nation. You are invited to be part of this historic event.
‘Australia Prays’ is a nationwide Zoom call taking place on Sunday 22nd August in response to the
need and distress Australians face in relation to Covid-19. The call, which participants can join for
as little or as long as they like, will run from 9am-9pm (AEST).
The theme of the event is ‘Lord Have Mercy’. Recognising the tremendous impacts this crisis
poses to nation’s health, economy, well being and spiritual lives, the text chosen for the event is
Psalm 123:2 — “Our eyes look to the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy.”
The event will be facilitated by the National Day of Prayer and Fasting (NDOPF) and is an explicitly
transdenominational event. It is the result of collaboration between Christian leaders and prayer
networks representing Evangelicals, Catholics and Pentecostals. The Chairman of NDOPF’s
Executive Team is former Salvation Army Commissioner James Condon.
Those who inspired and are organising the event acknowledge the division that Covid-19 and
Australia’s response to it has caused, even within the church. Nevertheless, they are calling for
Christians to set these conversations aside in order to seek God’s mercy at this crucial time.
“This situation is very frustrating for everybody,” Ps Wayne Alcorn, National President of Australian
Christian Churches, has said of the crisis. “However, we need to rise up and remain Christlike,
gracious, and beacons of hope in the midst of this heaviness that pervades our society.”
Alcorn wrote these words on 15th July, in a widely-read letter that floated the idea of “a National
Day of Prayer if we don’t see things start to turn around quickly”. Ultimately, this letter became a
significant prompt for the organisers of Australia Prays. National prayer events that took place in
2020, one which Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended, was also an inspiration for the event.
Australia Prays is an all-day event taking place on the fourth Sunday in August, but during the
week prior, participants are also invited to join a nightly prayer call. These calls will take place from
16th-21st August at 8pm-9pm (AEST). Daily devotions will also be made available to participants in
the fortnight leading up to the Sunday event.