A murmur of praying voices filled the Amarillo Civic Center at daylight Tuesday. Among them, one could hear the names "David Logan, Gary Hinders," and, more generally, "our judges," "the policemen" and "all the teachers at Amarillo High."A few people clasped hands as they prayed. Others lifted their hands toward heaven.
Logan and Hinders are Canyon city commissioners, two of the many people listed on the prayer guide distributed at the Community Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday.
About 1,300 people gathered at the civic center and asked God to bless and guide them, as did other local, state and federal leaders.
The prayer breakfast, in its 20th year, combines youth, music, sounds of patriotism and an inspirational speaker. Patrick Morley, author of "Man in the Mirror," a look at time, temperament, finances and relationships from a masculine perspective, spoke of emptiness after a life of financial success.
"I realized I wasn't looking for God. He was looking for me," he said.
Morley outlined spiritual struggles facing most people, including the desire to live worldly lives while trying to nurture a spiritual life.
"God loves you, and he wants you to repent," he said.
Roland Shorter Jr., a prayer breakfast guest, studied "Man in the Mirror" at church.
As men's ministry leader at Amarillo Bible Fellowship, he came looking for ideas to help the dozen men involved with the ministry become better Christians.
And he found an idea.
"It's repenting. We've got to repent of the world," Shorter said.
Lucy Karr has been on the prayer breakfast committee for 15 years. Its value as an event is in its emphasis on God and his love, and in the prayer for healing of the land, she said.
"It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. ... I think it's a little taste of heaven," Karr said.
