We Gather Together

Thanksgiving is a time of sharing—heaps of food, memories, laughter, a family football game, the parade on TV, a crackling fire warming our toes as a drowsy nephew nods off in our lap.

Here at GUIDEPOSTS, we share the Thanksgiving Day of Prayer (TDOP). On the Monday before the holiday, staff in all our offices unite with volunteers at home and online to pray “by name and need” for each and every request submitted.

“People talk about the most intimate parts of their lives, concerns, or silly things, and it really makes you feel connected,” says GUIDEPOSTS Books managing editor Elizabeth Gold, a participant since TDOP’s start. “I spend all my time reading fiction, so this is a wonderful way to be in touch with readers.” This year she’s praying for her family, who will miss Aunt Gladys, a strong prayer believer who died last year, this Thanksgiving.

Family is the heart of TDOP, which began in 1992. Originally called the Family Day of Prayer, the event brings the GUIDEPOSTS family together with our family of readers. Those requesting prayers often attach family photos to the prayer slips,  which are displayed on movable boards.

“To be able to see the people you are praying for makes such a difference,” says OurPrayer manager Reverend Peola Hicks, who joined the organization in October 2005. “You think of Thanksgiving as food and family but this puts prayer first. You think about other people who are struggling.” Her own prayers this year will be for her husband, daughters, mother and an ill fellow pastor.

TDOP requests begin arriving in September via mail and online. Last year, we received more than 14,000 requests. GUIDEPOSTS staff and prayer volunteers in their homes will be joined by thousands of web visitors to pray for each request by name and need on this special day of prayer.

“It’s a real community,” says Angela Adams, TDOP organizer. “The neat thing is that no matter what goes on in the world, the need for prayer and the relationship with God doesn’t change.”

But change has come to the event. The name was changed three years ago since it coincides with the holiday. And this year the program, which features a speaker, music, song, and prayer, will get a high-tech tweak: Video-conferencing will connect five GUIDEPOSTS locations.

Carmel administrative assistant Joycelle Johnson, who has attended every year for the past 15 years, sees participation as a privilege. “We often receive requests for healing, marriage, children, and lately, financial problems. It really makes you count your blessings.”

Does it get overwhelming: the huge number of requests, and the pain within them? “Sometimes our hearts want to cry,” says Angela. “But when we pray we trust we’re being listened to. We lift it up to Him and we let it go. We trust that He has a plan and He’s listening. I think of it as another opportunity to reach out to people. It fills me with gratitude to know I can offer that.”

Aunt Gladys would be proud.

To submit a prayer request, go to: ourprayerthanksgiving.org