On National Day of Prayer, millions of people across the country took time to pray about things weighing on their hearts.
Adventist Health Roseville hosted a prayer gathering on National Day of Prayer. “We spent time praying for our organization, our government, the vulnerable and sick, as well as specific prayer requests we received. We received so much positive feedback about our prayer time. God is good!” said Kristine Johnson, Adventist Health executive mission formation director and Roseville, California, campus mission and spiritual care leader.
Talking With God About What’s on Your Heart
In a survey of 2,000 adults in the U.S. conducted by Barna Group in 2022, 77% of respondents said they believe in a higher power. Nearly half — 44% — said they are more open to God today than they were before the start of the pandemic in 2020.
What do we do when we’re confronted with trouble, pain or confusion in our personal lives and in the world around us? Many people turn to God for meaning, comfort and hope. This turning to God often takes the form of prayer — expressing your thoughts or feelings to God. This can be as simple as pausing to acknowledge the spiritual presence of God, or it can mean pouring out to God your questions or sadness or anger — whatever you are feeling. Prayer is talking to God about the things on your heart or just sitting in silence with Him.
“We must pray who we actually are, not who we think we should be. In prayer, all is not sweetness and light. The way of prayer is not to cover our unlovely emotions so that they will appear respectable, but expose them so that they can be enlisted in the work of the kingdom,” wrote Eugene Peterson in his book Answering God.
“Through prayer, we receive an extra measure of strength, wisdom and encouragement to face the things that challenge our sense of well-being,” said Sam Leonor, Adventist Health chief mission officer.
Leonor leads the team of chaplains at Adventist Health who provide emotional and spiritual care for patients and their caregivers. “When we face anxiety about our health or the health of family and friends, expressing our trust in God’s goodness and praying for God’s power to meet our needs provides peace, rest and renewed hope.”
10 Ideas for Prayer
Here are some things you can pray about during your personal devotions, family prayers or as you go about your day:
- People who need mental, physical and spiritual healing
- People who are grieving or vulnerable
- The unhoused
- Medical professionals and healthcare leaders
- Our environment and the animals
- Students of all ages
- People facing financial hardship
- Our churches and schools
- Local, state and federal government leaders
- Faith communities
May each of us find strength and renewed hope in the practice of prayer.
