5,000 Gathered for Day of Prayer at LSU

5,000 Gathered for Day of Prayer at LSU

More than 5,000 Christians brought a message of faith, hope, love, and reconciliation to the LSU campus on Saturday, Jan. 24.  Two different events took place simultaneously.  But before noon, the two merged to become  one of the largest Christian gatherings in the history of LSU. The peaceable event contrasted with the threats being made against Christians by radical Moslems around the world.

The annual March for Life, which normally begins at the Old State Capitol and continues to the new State Capitol could not follow its traditional route this year because of construction work.  Instead, more than 2,500 pro-lifers met at the Greek Theatre on the LSU campus for speeches, prayer, and music.  Then the group, which represented churches from across South Louisiana, marched from the Greek Theatre to LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

At the Assembly Center, more than 2,500 Louisianians were already participating in a Day of Prayer.  This gathering, which was sponsored by Gov. Bobby Jindal, swelled to more than 5,000 as the pro-lifers arrived.

As the pro-life group turned from North Stadium Drive to enter the Assembly Center, they were met by about 200 jeering and chanting pro-abortion demonstrators, mostly LSU professors and students, including a large contingent from gay and lesbian groups.

The signs of the 2,500 pro-lifers were in stark contrast to those of the pro-abortion protestors.  Some of the pro-life signs read:

• “Respect All Life — from the Womb to Natural Death”

• “I Resolve to Defend Life Because Life is Precious”

• “Defend the Defenseless”

• “Marching for an Abortion-Free Louisiana” “Stop Abortion Now”

• “We Vote Pro-Life!  One Nation Under God”

Inside the Assembly Center, there were few real speeches. Rather, pastors and lay people went to mike to pray.  A variety of Christian musicians played and sang. The prayer meeting was called The Response and was part of a program that began in Houston. Gov. Bobby Jindal was one of the few public officials present.  When called upon, he went to the mike and prayed for the nation but made no political comments.

The pro-life crowd seemed to be older and included many mothers, fathers, and grandparents.  But the prayer group in the Assembly Center seemed to be younger and included a lot of students, minorities, and people from other countries.

In the prayer meeting,team of 20 or more prayer warriors were chosen to pray on a particular topic.  Once selected, they sat together in the audience and then were led to wait in a holding room together.  There they were asked to collect their thoughts and pray for a particular group, such as our national leaders, the President, and members of Congress.  No one was instructed on what to say.  But they were asked to carry a Bible and nothing else onto the stage.  Once on the stage, those asked to pray had a designated time, usually 15 or 30 seconds.

One person in the audience said it was the first time he had ever attended an event that was almost entirely devoted to prayer and that he found it to be a powerful time of fellowship that brought him closer to God.

 

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