Pastors to pray for Iraqis, military, honesty

Utahns who include prayer in their daily routine today likely share some of the concerns to be voiced by a group of local evangelical pastors, who will offer specific petitions to God at the State Capitol tonight in observance of the National Day of Prayer.

With the war in Iraq just ended and questions mounting over how to help Iraqis structure their own government, Chaplain Steven Keith of Hill Air Force Base will offer the first prayer at the 7 p.m. service in the Capitol Rotunda, focusing on the political situation and the military in particular. Prayers for federal, state and local leaders and civil servants will follow, and the public is invited.

Pastor Greg Johnson, state coordinator for the nationwide observance, said specific challenges require specific petitions to the Almighty. Having one day each year set aside specifically to acknowledge God's hand in the affairs of men is a chance to "ask ourselves where we are as a nation regarding the things that make us great, including our families."

The event has been organized by local evangelical pastors, some 19 of whom are slated to participate in the service, which will include music and a color guard presentation.

The theme for this year's event comes from Proverbs 14:34, which says, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." The Rev. Johnson sees the theme as an "attempt to speak to the repentance of our nation from a moral perspective. We need to look inward and be honest about some things happening in our society."

The breakdown of traditional family life, corruption on Wall Street and the resulting lack of trust by investors, abortion, cloning and euthanasia are all topics to be addressed specifically by local pastors during the 90-minute prayer service.

Pastor Arvin Haynes of the Salt Lake Christian Center said he'll be asking God to help business people be honest and forthright in their dealings. He pointed to the Bible as the "manual" for ethical business practices, saying "when all else fails, read the directions." Selfishness and a lack of respect for divine authority are at the root of much dishonesty, he said. A belief that one can "get away with" fraud or deception underlies bad faith business practices, he said. But "God keeps good records" even if financial firms don't, he said.

"Many times we as a society want to divide how we treat one another on Sunday from how we treat each other Monday through Saturday." If people begin treating each other "biblically every day, we'll see a change in our society."