CONWAY, SC – Hospitals around America are literally being surrounded by Christians praying for the heroic medical staffs, for the healing of patients, and for both groups to find strength and hope in Jesus.

On Friday evening, April 3, just one block away from this writer’s home, cars encircled the Conway Medical Center (CMC) as Christians prayed in the parking lots.

The prayer vigil was punctuated with Christian music as worshippers whispered prayers from behind their steering wheels. A number of CMC medical staff members appeared on a terrace in protective masks and shields near the end of the 90-minute gathering. They waved and blew kisses to the crowd.

One amazed participant exclaimed,

“People kept showing up. It made me emotional because it just shows that there is a sense of community here. … It’s not like everyone was sectioned by denomination or by church name. Everyone was just here because of who God is. That just makes it even better.”

Conway was not the only place where pop-up prayer meetings took place. The spokesperson for a group who gathered at the Terrebonne Medical Center near New Orleans, Louisiana, observed that

“Perseverance and perspective are so important. When you get into crisis situations, that’s when anxiety and fear, those things take over. When you just immerse yourself in prayer, a lot of those feelings go away, and they’re replaced with peace; they are replaced with hope.”

Louisiana is one of the hotspots for the Coronavirus in the United States. As of Monday afternoon, April 6, Louisiana has logged a total of 14,867 cases of the virus, the most of any state behind New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and California. 512 people with Coronavirus have died in Louisiana.

Florida is next on the list of confirmed cases with 13,324 and a total of 238 deaths. That explains why so many Christians packed the parking lot of the Poinciana Medical Center in Kissimmee near Disney World. Disney World’s gates may be closed, but the gates of Heaven are always open to the prayers of God’s children. Click this link to see a very brief video of the medical center’s parking lot on their night of prayer.

Here in Conway, many of the medical center personnel are born-again believers. I have been blessed to see doctors, nurses, volunteers, and cafeteria workers share the love of Jesus and pray with patients and their families in loving and gentle ways.

The Coronavirus is filling hospitals with an unprecedented number of patients. It is also filling hospital parking lots with prayers for hope, and healing, and healthcare heroes.

One nurse in Conway commented that

“It’s important that God’s people get together and pray for healing for the sick and pray for strength and compassion and protection for the healthcare workers. … It’s an amazing encouragement to see these people out here united in one purpose.”

Pray for hope, healing, our hospital heroes, and for the Lord’s almighty hand to be seen clearly during this crisis.

Learn 35 suggestions for this season of isolation from K.P. Yohannan in his inspirational blog, “Don’t Waste the Coronavirus.”

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To read more news on the Coronavirus Outbreak on Missions Box, go here.