July 26, 2024
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — On Thursday, May 2, hamlets, towns, and cities across America observed the National Day of Prayer in churches, civic centers, community complexes and public venues. In Gainesville, a group of Hispanic youth pastors mobilized scores of second-generation Hispanic youths to pray for the United States.
Luis Ceballos, 25, a newly ordained minister at the Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Gainesville, hosted almost 150 young Hispanics from eight different Hispanic churches to worship and pray for our nation on the day consecrated for the purpose of praying for the spiritual and moral climate of America.
Early in the year, the Lord laid it upon the heart of Rosaba Tinoco to organize a focused prayer time for the Hispanic people of Hall County. She collaborated with Ceballos to provide something that would be encouraging and heartwarming for the youth of Hall County and that would have a spiritual impact upon the nation.
According to the United States Census Bureau the estimated population in Hall County on July 1, 2023, was 217,267 people. The Hispanic population of the county is approximately 67,746, or almost 30 percent of the population.
Tinoco’s vision to have something special for second-generation Latinos was spiritually driven. Andres Flores explained, “Second- and third-generation Latinos are the fastest growing population among the largest minority in the United States. Worship and music are a crucial part of their religious experience and spiritual growth.”
According to Lifeway Research, Hispanic Christians in the U. S. are doing a good job of reaching children and students and retaining young adults.
Lifeway reported, “When Hispanic Christians were asked to choose up to five of the most important reasons their church had been able to reach youth and young adults, most pastors say their congregation prayed specifically for them (57%) and communicated the importance of reaching them (56%). Close to half (46%) say they put special events on the calendar (to attract and interest them).
“Most pastors in Hispanic Protestant churches say they’re involving the next generation in the ministry of their church and are strategic about how they reach them. Hispanic churches are not just young, they are actively and intentionally working to reach the next generation with the gospel.”
The churches and student leaders that partnered with Ceballos are:
The Hispanic Baptist leaders selected seven specific areas of prayer for their intercessory focus.
First, they prayed for the government. The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
Second, they prayed for the military. The Psalmist wrote, “Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings you shall take refuge. His truth shall be your shield and buckler” (Psalm 91: 1-2)
Third, they prayed for the business enterprises of the nation. In Psalm 90 we read, “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17).
Fourth, they prayed for the media. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13).
Fifth, they prayed for our educational system. Psalm 1 declares: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).
Sixth, they prayed for family. In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, God says, “These commandments that I Give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Seventh, they prayed for the church. The Apostle Paul wrote: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
The United States desperately stands in need of prayer. As Christians, we should endeavor to pray for the nation, the church, and the people not just on the National Day of Prayer, but every day.
