Due to COVID-19, the 59th Iowa Prayer Breakfast was held online on Thursday morning.

It was moderated by Scott Brunscheen, the chairman of the 2020 Iowa Prayer Breakfast Committee. Matt Baird, lead singer for the Christian band Spoken, led worship. State Rep. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, opened with prayer. Gov. Kim Reynolds also spoke about the importance of prayer, shared her favorite verse Isaiah 41:10, and read her declaration making today a day of prayer in Iowa.

State Senator Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, read the selected Old Testament scriptures (2 Chronicles 36:21; Numbers 16:47-49; Joel 2:17; Deuteronomy 6:1-2, 6-7; Psalm 46:10; and 2 Chronicles 7:14). Lt. Governor Adam Gregg read the selected New Testament readings (John 19:30; Mark 15:46, 16:6; and Hebrews 4:9-11).

Dr. Jim Garlow, the Founder and CEO of Well Versed, Inc., which brings biblical principles to governance, gave the keynote address entitled “Hearing God’s Voice In a Crisis.”

Pastor Jamel Crawford, the Lead Pastor of New Life Center, closed the program in prayer.

Watch below:

More about the keynote speaker: Dr. Garlow is an author, communicator, commentator, historian, cultural observer and has served most of his adult life as a pastor. Garlow is heard daily on over 800 radio outlets nationwide in his one-minute commentary called “The Garlow Perspective,” and has appeared on numerous national TV shows on NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, CNBC and Comedy Central.

The Iowa Prayer Breakfast was started by Des Moines Mayor Reinhold Carlson in 1961, Iowans have continued this tradition for almost six decades, gathering every Maundy Thursday, with this year being an exception having to go entirely online.

Recent past speakers include Ravi Zacharias, Simon Estes, Os Guinness, Alveda King, Joe Stowell, Becky Tirabassi, and T.C. Stallings.

You May Also Like

Jesus: Unique Life Before Birth?

Tom Hill: Did Jesus exist prior to His birth? Does the Bible give any clues to answer this question? If so, how does the Bible describe Jesus’ preexistence?

American Idolatry: The Dangers of Identity Politics

Identity politics comes from the natural human tendency to bond with people who look and act like you. It’s human instinct to connect with your own. On an emotional level there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact those emotional ties become building blocks for society. Identity becomes problematic when we simply do not just accept and celebrate our diversity but when the differences seem to become important, even overwhelming factors in how we vote. While it is understandable that race, class, gender, ethnicity, and religion are factors and railing against them counting is like objecting to gravity, it should disturb us when these categories pass being factors and become determiners.

Harold Camping, Rob Bell, and Identifying Heresy

Well, another doomsday prophesy has come and gone, and with it I…

Are You Homesick for Heaven?

D.A. Carson answers a question on the kingdom of God, and says…