There has been a significant increase in the number of calls to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Prayer Line, a service created to offers God's hope to people after the COVID pandemic began, from citizens asking for prayers after the riot that happened in The U.S. Capitol Building last Jan. 6.
American citizens were shaken in fear by the recent disturbances that happened at the U.S. Capitol, which also makes COVID-19 threats and worries more vicious, a report from The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said.
"I think what we have seen is there are just a lot of people with fear still," claimed Jonathan Edwards, manager of the prayer line for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. "People are hurting and just scared."
Edwards also acknowledged that the recent spike in coronavirus cases is behind the citizens' fear and people going into lockdown again.
The Billy Graham Prayer Line opened their lines in March 2020 and just recently had an outburst of incoming callers since early Jan..
"We're at least several hundred calls above what we are used to on a normal prayer line day." Edwards explained.
The hotline is being answered by trained prayer volunteers who have already received and answered more than 300 thousand calls and thousands of them have made spiritual decisions for Christ.
Many of the recent calls have expressed dismay, frustrations, anger, and hopelessness at the condition of America's political disclosure. Other callers even asked for reassurance and questioned if God really is still in control.
A caller named Jennifer indicated how angry and confused she is about the U.S. Capitol riot. She said that the normal peace she had in the Lord was missing as her family turned their backs on her because of their differences in beliefs. The hotline prayer volunteer then tried to lift Jennifer's spirits up with a reminder of God's power and that He can do all things.
Another caller, named Gary, also called to pray for America because of all the disturbances that are happening especially in Washington, D.C. A volunteer joined him in praying that people would become peacemakers in lieu of the opposite.
Ines, also a believer like Gary, called the hotline to express her concern about the disruption at the U.S. Capitol. Ines' family left Cuba when she was a kid during a time where there were riots happening. The incident brought her fear after seeing what is continuously happening in America. A volunteer encouraged her to focus on Jesus and assured her that God sees everything that is going on in the world right now.
Lastly, Roman, who describes himself as 'agnostic' and intellectual, called the hotline to question why he should restore his faith in God.The volunteer did a good job at taking her time to share different scriptures from the Bible about receiving salvation through Christ. These scriptures helped Roman understand Christ's love for humankind and in the end, he accepted Christ and asked for his forgiveness.
