Victims Are at Heart of National Day of Prayer : Beliefs: A religious gathering of about 15 people at the Civic Center in Santa Ana was part of the public events throughout the country.

Churches across the county set aside special hours of service to recognize National Day of Prayer on Thursday, focusing their prayers on government leaders, families of victims in the Oklahoma City bombing and the thousands killed recently in Rwanda’s civil war.

This year, there was a greater commitment to National Day of Prayer, said some pastors.

“Given where we are today, both nationally and locally, there is a greater willingness to recognize our need for God’s providence,” said Bob Shank, senior pastor at South Coast Community Church in Irvine.

“Whether we are dealing with the headlines in the Orange County bond crisis, the Oklahoma City bombing or the refugees in Rwanda . . . we are recognizing that the problems are bigger than we are, but they are not bigger than God,” Shank said.

National Day of Prayer was created by Congress in 1952 for people of all faiths, and the first Thursday in May was selected later for the day of prayer.

The focus of the day was to pray for government leaders, said a representative from the National Day of Prayer Task Force in Colorado Springs, Colo. The task force coordinated various public events nationwide, including a prayer gathering of about 15 people at the Civic Center in Santa Ana.

At Calvary Christian Schools of Santa Ana--a nondenominational preschool, elementary and junior high school--students spiked posters onto the school’s front lawn with slogans that said “Trust God” and “There is power in prayer.”

“We feel that the nation and its leaders need God’s direction and wisdom, and we are excited that we have the opportunity to pray for them,” said Alex Lackey, superintendent of Calvary Christian Schools. “With all the social problems that are happening at this point, we obviously need the wisdom of God so that we can cope.”

An outpouring of prayers at this year’s services were directed at those whose loved ones were killed in the April 19 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

“I think that any of us who are compassionate have sympathy for the people of Oklahoma,” Lackey said. “As you watch the trends of history and current events, it is obvious we don’t know how to correct the existing problems. We are thankful that we can have this opportunity to ask for God’s direction and wisdom.”

Likewise, at Coast Community Church in Aliso Viejo, pastors asked their congregation to pray for many things, including those who have experienced tragedy. At the top of the pastor’s list was the need to pray for “the healing of our land,” said Yvonne Anderson, care ministry coordinator at the church.

“We ask that people pray to be one nation under God once again,” Anderson said.