America is divided. States are not united. Cities are in rebellion. Communities are agitated. Families are struggling. People are hurting.

Complete strangers join one or more of the hundreds of prayer groups on Facebook to share their worries and intercede for one another. Prayer posts populate religious and secular sites throughout social media, in recognition and dependence upon Divine Providence.

The Bible advises: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

We the People have always relied on prayer. Benjamin Franklin said, “In the beginning of the contest with Britain when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?” [Constitutional Convention, Thursday, June 28, 1787]

Bill Bernady, of Arlington, Texas, received a message and directive while attending church. “As we began to pray, God was showing me, let’s do it by loving our neighbor, and that was the whole goal.”

So he created a literal Prayer Post. It’s located in his front yard for his neighbors to deposit requests and praises. He gathers them up every few days and prays over them.

His friend, Barbara Tappe asked him to build another Prayer Post and install it in her yard. “I think it’s really important,” said Tappe. “Especially right now when there’s so much fear around us. To me, this just represents that God’s in control and he wants us to lift up our concerns to him and let it go.”

“There are probably 35 of them out there,” explained Bernardy. “They’re as far away as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Most are in Texas.”

Dave and Donna Young have a Prayer Post in their yard. They received over 300 prayer requests in the first seven months.

Bill Bernady’s prayer is that every request will be answered. One could say that Bill, himself, is a living prayer.

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