A year ago an unprecedented Night of Prayer drew 70,000 Christians from all streams of the Egyptian Church to pray for their nation. On 13th December 2012 some eight to ten thousand believers from across Egypt’s churches gathered again.
This time they prayed for the current political situation. They also prayed for church unity, repentance and spiritual revival in Egypt. At times the crowd erupted into chants of “Jesus!” and “Egypt!” Held aloft among the ocean of worshippers, banners declared messages like “We want you, Jesus” and “You turned my wailing into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.”
Held at Cairo’s massive Cave Church and televised live by SAT-7 ARABIC and SAT-7 PLUS, extracts from the event were also taken by secular channel ON-TV. Two secular Egyptian newspapers published articles on the event and SAT-7’s coverage of it. Over 50,000 have so far watched on YouTube, where the clips will continue to be available.
Many posted their responses on social media. One said, “My mum, my wife, my daughter, and a friend are now at the Cave Church standing before the Lord praying for our country among thousands of other Christians. Not a single harassment incident was reported and not one single bad word said against other religion.”
A Muslim attender posted: “To all those who keep saying that Christians are mobilizing the crowds against Egypt’s interest… I’d like to tell you that yes they’re mobilizing a huge crowd right now in the Cave Church … There are nothing but songs, Egypt’s flags, and prayers for Egypt and for its good … To all the Christians in Egypt: your raised hands and prayers are what is making Egypt go on until now…”
Another viewer commented, “We are joining you in praying for Egypt from Lebanon. We pray that peace fills Egypt and that Jesus shines over it.”
Farid Garas, Executive Director of SAT-7’s Egypt production centre, said that SAT-7’s live broadcast of the event allowed “people all over the world to participate in the prayers. Such events are always a good way to introduce SAT-7 especially to non-Christians. They become curious about SAT-7 and Christianity and start watching more of our productions and seeking the truth.”
View clips of the prayer night here.