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  • F.L. Estes, left, leads Billy Morgan and the crowd gathered Thursday at Fuqua Park for the National Day of Prayer. David Laughlin

    Leading the way in song
May 7, 2010

Putting faith to work

National Day of Prayer is success Thursday

David Laughlin The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN — All across the nation innumerable people gathered and joined in prayer to participate in the National Day of Prayer. In Duncan, participants were greeted with the sound of acoustic guitars and a fiddle for a country and western inspired gospel music selection led by the Chisholm Trail Cowboy Church.

While the event was slated to start at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, the southern-serenade kicked off before schedule as the crowd started to trickle in. The country-gospel band played several songs before exiting the stage and making way for the band from Freedom Bikers Church.

The two bands were as diverse as the crowd. Wranglers, cowboy hats and boots were the apparel of choice for the Cowboy Church band and leather vests were the garments of choice for the Biker Church band.

Billy Morgan took center stage for the Bikers band. “Our music is a little different then theirs,” Morgan said with a smile referring to the Cowboy Church band. It seems Morgan’s assertion was correct. Gone was the country and western “twang.” In were the hard bass line and a robust set of drums. Morgan’s band offered the crowd a completely different genre. Regardless of how different the two band’s sounds were, the message remained the same, faith.

Morgan and the Biker church ministered in song before Morgan took the opportunity to talk.

“On our money, it says ‘one nation under God,” Morgan said. “I believe that to be true, but we live in a nation where they don’t allow prayer in school, you tell me if it’s fair to tell a fifth-grader he can’t pray before a math test.”

Morgan said the bulk of the issues the nation is facing stems from a lack of judgment and misplaced priorities.

“We, as a nation, have allowed that to happen,” Morgan said. “For decades we have voted from our pocketbooks and not from our Bibles.”

Morgan shared II Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

“The nation is in desperate need of healing,” Morgan said. “To do that we need to start voting Biblical principals, from local to national elections we need to pray for guidance and we need to pray for our elected officials.”

Morgan added, “If we claim to be Christians we need to pray for our leaders and guidance.”

Local event organizer, Dale Anderson said the turnout was better then in years past. Anderson said the attendance wasn’t the only aspect that saw improvement, but also diversity.

“We have had a great turnout this year,” Anderson said. “You can accredit that to the beautiful weather we are enjoying and the fact we did some things a little different this year, there really is a diverse crowd out there today.”

Anderson echoed Morgan’s statements about getting priorities in order.

“If you’re too busy to pray,” Anderson said. “Then you are just too busy.”



— David Laughlin is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 144, or via e-mail at david.laughlin@duncanbanner.com.

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