WASHINGTON — The National Prayer Breakfast was rebranded this year as the National Prayer Rally, a change organizers said better reflected the event's current spirit. The breakfast components — eggs, bacon, pastries, orange juice — were retained without comment.
Several prominent televangelists addressed the gathered crowd of approximately 1,200 faith leaders, elected officials, and other guests. The recurring theme of the morning was that America had been chosen by God to lead the world through a period of spiritual and geopolitical renewal.
"God did not make a mistake when He made America," said one speaker, a televangelist from Texas whose ministry claims a weekly broadcast audience of 4 million. He was asked afterward what scriptural basis existed for a divine selection of one nation in the current dispensation. He said that was a "big question" and moved on.
A second speaker compared current immigration policy to "protecting the temple" and cited Nehemiah's reconstruction of Jerusalem's walls. Biblical scholars reached by The Pulpit Truth noted that Nehemiah's wall was intended to protect a community of returning exiles from harassment, not to screen those exiles' neighbors at a border. The scholars asked not to be named.
A Pew Research Center survey released the same week found that 61 percent of white evangelical Protestants say border enforcement should be stricter. Forty-three percent said their position was informed by their faith. An additional 18 percent said their position was informed by what they described as "common sense," which they said was related to their faith.
The event was attended by several members of Congress who requested to be photographed during the portion of the morning devoted to communal prayer. Three members remained standing during the seated prayer. Two said this was intentional. One said he had a back issue.
Asked what distinguished a Prayer Rally from a Prayer Breakfast, event spokesperson Carla Winstead said the rally format "allows for more energy in the room." She said the eggs were good.
The event is scheduled to return next year.