Hundreds wake up early to share prayer at the Amarillo Community Prayer Breakfast.
More than 800 Amarilloans woke up early Tuesday morning to enjoy a morning of prayer, reflection and food at the 34th Amarillo Community Breakfast at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Among those in attendance were former Amarillo mayor Trent Sisemore and current mayor Cole Stanley. Sustenance was served with the Word and a meal to those in attendance as they prayed on multiple issues, including seeking divine guidance to make the right decisions in leadership.
Stanley said he was so honored to be asked to be a part of the event by the former mayor.
“It's truly an honor and a privilege to get around your brothers and sisters as a family,” Stanley said. “It feels like family in here. We were here for one reason and that is to pray. There is power in prayer. You are in a room full of our community, all across the Panhandle, that believes in that.”
The one thing that Stanley said that he would pray for is courage for those across the Texas Panhandle to stand against fear.
“Fear is the number one tool that the enemy is using right now to push everybody into different pockets and sects to create division,” he said. "He has a divide and conquer mentality, and the only way to defeat this enemy is by overcoming fear.”
Paxton Lockett, a senior at Tascosa High School, and Eilee Wade, a senior at Amarillo High School, addressed the crowd to give a future perspective. Lockett spoke so powerfully that he received a standing ovation for his message.
Lockett said that it felt amazing to speak to the crowd this morning.
“I knew this is what God had for me today,” Lockett said. “God had my back the whole time, and I was able to put on the full armor of God to be able to get through to the crowd today.”
The featured speaker for the morning’s breakfast was Victor Boutros, the CEO and co-founder of The Human Trafficking Institute, who spoke about his efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking.
“It is so humbling to show up at 6 in the morning with so many people who love Jesus to pray and to see what God is doing in the world,” Boutros said. “And hopefully, we are encouraged by what God is doing to decimate trafficking around the world.”
Boutros said that the federal and state governments are making strides in combatting human trafficking. He urged that if people see something that does not look or feel right to share it with law enforcement.
“It is a high priority for the Texas government to explore some partnerships, and we have great opportunities to grow the work of enforcement in the U.S. and Texas in particular,” Boutros said. "We need to honor and encourage our police and prosecutors who are working hard on the frontlines to force traffickers to pay a real price for their crimes.”
For more information about the organization, go to https://traffickinginstitute.org/about/
Mary Bralley, a committee member for the yearly event that is always held the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, spoke about the background and purpose of the community prayer breakfast.
“Thirty-four years ago, things were happening in the city, which had its leaders decide to come together as a community and pray to get through the trials that were going on. Fast forward to 2023; we are still doing it today. Maybe our problems seem bigger, but the only thing that never changes is that we need prayer. We need to come together and pray,” Bralley said.
Bralley said this event is to unify the community and go into the Thanksgiving holiday on a good note.
“I encourage anybody that if you have never been to join us to experience the power of prayer,” Bralley added. “Today's event was amazing; I was so impressed by our student speaker today, Paxton Lockett. He spoke with such condition and confidence. Prayer has power.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Over 800 join in prayer at Amarillo's annual breakfast
