‘Prayer is as much listening to God as it is talking to him,’ Wright tells W’burg Kiwanis

Former Main Street Baptist Church Pastor Bill Wright was the keynote speaker for the 18th Annual Williamsburg Kiwanis Club National Day of Prayer Breakfast that was held Thursday morning at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center.

“We are here today because it is the National Day of Prayer,” Rev. Bill Wright, former pastor at Main Street Baptist Church, told a group of about 100 people gathered Thursday morning for the 18th Annual Williamsburg Kiwanis Club National Day of Prayer Breakfast.

“Today, across this nation, people will gather in various sized venues to remember the day and to pray prayers of confession, prayers of adoration of God, prayers petitioning God to intercede in many of the situations we face in our lives. Prayer is a conversation with God.”

Wright noted that Andrew Murray summed it up well when he said that prayer is not only a monologue, but a dialogue with God.

“God’s voice in response to mine is the most essential part. Indeed prayer is talking to God, but prayer is as much listening to God as it is talking to him,” Wright noted.

“God knows my life in detail. God cares about my life, and you could say the say that is the foundation, the core of prayer. We pray to a God that is sovereign and all-powerful and all knowing and eternal. He is capable, but he is also intimate and responds to me when I call out to him in faith in Christ.”

Wright added that sometimes one of the biggest hindrances to prayer is thinking God has bigger things to do than tend to our small problems.

“How can God care about me physically speaking, who is such a small part of God’s creation?” Wright asked. “We must remember this that God is unlimited. Another word for that is infinite. We are limited. We are finite, but God has unlimited capabilities, unlimited power and unlimited wisdom. If this universe is so vast and so incomprehensible then the God, who made it, is even more incomprehensible and large.”

Wright was the keynote speaker Thursday for the prayer breakfast, which was held at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center.

In 1953, Congress established the first Thursday in May as a day to observe prayer.

Thursday’s event raised slightly over $2,000 for the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club. The proceeds go to support area children through projects and scholarships.

“We truly believe that the children of Williamsburg and Whitley County deserve the best opportunities to dream, learn, experience and succeed. We want all the children to be able to able to gather, play and associate with their friends and families in a clean, healthy environment,” noted Steven Jett, who served as master of ceremonies for Thursday’s prayer breakfast.

“Our Kiwanis Club mission is to secure such a place and provide it free of charge. To us, it is all about the kids and enriching their lives as much as we possibly can. We strive to change the world in a positive way one child and one community at a time.”

Jett encouraged those in attendance to pray for the leaders of our county, our state and national governments.

“There is a bunch of stuff going on. We want God to hear our prayers. We want him to be intimately involved in the lives of all those, who lead us in this great nation we call the United States of America,” Jett added.

Prayer breakfast sponsors included: James Baker with State Farm Insurance, Colonel Market and Grill, Community Trust Bank, Corbin Times Tribune, FCI Federal, Firestone, First Volunteer Bank, Forcht Bank, Gary Barton, Huddle House, Oral Lewis Catering, South Kentucky Truck Service, Tek Works, Top Choice Custom Meats, Trent Knuckles, Wendys, Whitley News Journal, Williamsburg Commandery #50, and Williamsburg Fast Cash.

“We thank all these folks for their contributions and support,” Jett told the crowd.

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.

There are about 8,000 clubs in 96 nations with more than 260,000 adult members and 320,000 youth.

Kiwanis clubs across the globe sponsor nearly 150,000 service projects and raise nearly $107 million every year.