Valley group plans National Day of Prayer events

YOUNGSTOWN — A group of city residents says a quiet but potent power in prayer is the catalyst behind its formation of the City Prayer Team of Youngstown.

The team is sponsoring morning, noon and evening prayer programs in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer on Thursday. That observance, with a nationwide affiliation, is the most high-profile event that the prayer team has planned since it formed about a year and half ago. The programs are open to all.

Linda Daniels, a team member and day of prayer organizer, credited Alice Marshall with the idea for the group. Marshall sent an e-mail to a small number of people of faith suggesting that a group get together to “pray for the city.”

“It started out with about seven people from seven different churches,” Daniels said. “Now there are about 35 churches involved.

“At first, we didn’t know where the meetings would take us,” Daniels said. But, she said, those who attended the meeting believed that prayer was a spiritual avenue of support for the city. The group sponsors prayer breakfasts and prayer walks as ways to fulfill its purpose.

And the group did have a firm belief in the power of prayer. “Prayer is our foundation,” Daniels said. “We knew we could have a unified effort of prayer.

“There are studies that show the effectiveness of prayer,” Daniels said. “In our personal lives, people pray and see things happen. We know there is a God who will answer our prayers. We believe in prayer as way of overturning the bad things.”

Daniels said American history is tied to prayer. So praying for the city and its people seemed natural. “We were confident we could reach out,” Daniels said.

For complete story, see Monday's Vindicator or www.vindy.com.