LANSING, Ill. (September 18, 2023) – Over 100 worshipers gathered from the area and around the country on Friday night at Freedom Church Ministries in Lansing as part of a public prayer service.
The 7 p.m. prayer service came after a day of workshops and speakers as part of the Innovative Prayer Leader Conference, led by Pastor C. Terrell Wheat. Workshops continued into Saturday, and another prayer service was held Saturday night as well.
While workshops required registration, the evening prayer service was open to the public. Roughly a dozen attendees at Friday night’s service indicated they were from outside the Chicago area.
After opening with a praise and worship time, Pastor Wheat introduced Pastor John Hannah, of New Life Covenant Church Southeast, who preached on the importance and impact of intercessory prayer. The atmosphere throughout the night was one of passionate worship, and attendees were invited to shout out their praises to God, speak encouraging messages to each other, hold hands, and wander the worship space at different points throughout the night.
“You can’t have a prayer conference and be silent,” said Hannah. “[God] is attracted to sound.”
Hannah said intercessory prayer, which refers to praying to God for someone else, requires unselfishness.
“You can’t be a selfish intercessor, because that means you’re getting between someone else and God,” he said.
He used the Biblical book of Judges as an illustration throughout his sermon, and pointed out a five-point cycle in the book — sin, slavery, supplication, salvation, and silence.
Hannah urged attendees not to just pray in the hard times, but to pray in every situation.
The service lasted over two hours. Click the links below for more information on ministries involved in the prayer conference:
