America Must Pray
By Dr. Mal Couch
Public prayer, spiritual publications of poems and music, have always been a part of America, until recently. There are forces now trying to silence the Christian spiritual heritage of open and free expression to our God that made this nation great.
Each week I’ll add some historical tidbits as how Christian expression and public prayer was a vital part of our nation’s blessing. We may not fully know of the spiritual state of all the men we examine, but we do know none of them were fearful of prayers to the God of the Bible in the public setting.
If you are a pastor or Sunday school teacher, please print off these little bits of our history and share them with others.
John D. Rockefeller
For many the name Rockefeller means the ultimate as a business scoundrel and crook. And it is true that he created an oil monopoly with his fast growing Standard Oil Company that was cornering the market in the new petroleum industry. However it must be realized that at that time (the late 1800s) monopolistic practices had not been thoroughly defined. But there is another story to Rockefeller.
Born in 1839 in upstate New York, Rockefeller was a faithful member of the Baptist Church. He held fast to his spiritual convictions and gave millions of dollars away to missions, medical research, and universities. Living in Cleveland for over forty years, he rarely missed Sunday and Friday evening services at the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church. From 1872 to 1905 he actually served as the Sunday school superintendent at his church. He believed "the Bible to be the most important inspirational instrument in stimulating prayer and right living." In studying the Bible he would often sit back in silence and reflect for a moment on a verse he had just read. Only then would he be ready to pray.
Another giant of commerce was John Wanamaker of Philadelphia. At a prayer service in 1856, when he was eighteen, he became a Christian and pledged that from that night on he "wanted to be more like Christ." In time he would become the best known Christian layman of his generation as a member of the Disciples of Christ. (This is not the same as the Church of Christ of today!)
Wanamaker was not afraid to testify of his love of Christ. In one of his great department stores in Philadelphia he constructed what was called the "Grand Court." In it he finished this open and wide room with massive Corinthian columns. It could hold up to fourteen thousand people at a time. He built the world’s largest organ with 28,000 pipes, producing a sound many called simply "glorious." While organ recitals were going on, salespeople would hand out prayer tracts to customers. Besides holding organ concerts, religious services were often held in the Grand Court.
Wanamaker insisted that the organ concerts and times of prayer were not meant to increase business.
Later Wanamaker joined the Presbyterian Church and like Rockefeller, he also became a Sunday school superintendent, holding that position for sixty-five years. Often he would take the pulpit and speak.
Being a deeply devoted and spiritual Christian he delivered a prayer and said: "Oh, Lord, You have told us how to pray. Help us to shut the door, shutting out the world, and the enemy and any fear or doubt, which spoils prayer. May there be no distance between our souls and You!"