Half a million gathered online to pray for Germany amid coronavirus crisis

Around 500,000 people watched the live stream of “Germany prays together”, an online prayer event organised by the Augsburg House of Prayer.

According to the organizers, 250,000 people watched it on YouTube and Focus Online, while at least another 250,000 watched the recording on Bible TV, EWTN TV and ERF. There were Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Free Church believers among the participants.

“I am amazed and extremely grateful”, said Johannes Hartl, the leader of the Prayer House, who moderated the prayer campaign.

MARKUS SöDER: “FAITH SHOWS THAT THERE IS MORE THAN THE CURRENT SITUATION”

The Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, who participated in the event, pointed out in a video greeting that “faith gives strength. Faith holds together. Faith fills the heart with optimism and shows that there is more than the current situation. I pray every day. I actually always pray”.

“Now I pray especially for the people who are affected by coronavirus, for the relatives and for all those who are struggling to get well right now. Let us pray together and say thank you to all those who take on a difficult task as nurses or doctors”.

“THE SERVICE COLLAPSED BECAUSE OF GRATITUDE”

The Augsburg House of Prayer informed that “the live TV experiment was technically extremely innovative”. The built-in interactive survey platform Slido was the only one who failed for a while, when tens of thousands wanted to offer their thanksgiving prayer despite the coronavirus situation.

“An online service collapsed because of gratitude. What a headline”, Hartl pointed out.

Organisers do not know if there will be another “Germany pray together” campaign, but due to the success it is posible. “Praying is one of the most natural things in the world. Prayer is not everything, but without prayer everything is nothing”, Hartl underlined.