November 25, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Thanksgiving Day has arrived!
This annual national holiday provides an opportunity for all to celebrate the best kind of giving, Thanksgiving for all the blessings of the past year.
Each year the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce hosts a prayer breakfast, which has become a long-standing tradition to commemorate the season of thanksgiving.
In his remarks as keynote speaker for this year’s prayer breakfast last week, State Representative Michael Hale said our community, state, and nation have much for which to be thankful and we as a people are always in need of prayer.
“Today, as we should every day, we pause to show appreciation for the opportunity that we have to pray, and the freedom we have to pray,” said Hale, who is also a local minister.
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” said Hale quoting from the scriptures James 5:16.
“When we ran our campaign, there were three things that were our foundation, faith, family, and freedom because its all about our families, it’s about our freedoms, it’s about our leaders, it’s about our community, it’s about our churches. These things matter,” Hale continued.
“How do we fight our battles? In Prayer”
“How do we overcome? In Prayer”
“How do we find strength? In Prayer”
“I have said this many times, I may never be able to call the President, a Senator, Governor, but I can come boldly before the throne of God and talk to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I can call on the one that said I will give you houses you didn’t build, vineyards you didn’t plant, and wells you didn’t dig,” he said.
“II Chronicles 7:14 says if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land,” added Hale.
The prayer breakfast, held at the Smithville First Baptist Church Life Enrichment Center, featured music by Susan Hinton, a welcome from Chamber Director Suzanne Williams, Pledge of Allegiance led by Don Rigsby, National Anthem by Suzanne Slager, Opening Prayer by Chad Ramsey, Scripture reading by Sadie Moore, prayer for military and emergency responders by Dwayne Cornelius, prayer for children and schools by Daniel Leslie, prayer for the community by Larry Green, prayer for the state and country by Don Rigsby, and prayer for the lost by Chris Moore.