Louisiana Pastor Locks Himself in a Prayer Room to Fight against Crime
A Louisiana pastor recently locked himself in a prayer room, hoping his prayers would help decrease crime in the state’s capital, Baton Rouge.
“It’s impossible for someone to really be sincere by seeking God without drawing other men and women to pray,” Pate, 68, told WAFB News.
The pastor argued that the church’s prayers are the key to taking on crime in Baton Rouge.
“So I believe that prayer can change the hearts of the individuals that’s (sic) creating all the violence,” he said.
According to ChurchLeaders.com, in 1994, Pate locked himself in his prayer room for the first time. He stayed there for nearly eight months, hoping people would be drawn to the building to receive prayer and holy oil. He also locked himself in the prayer room in 2000 as a means to identify with the pain and suffering of the elderly.
Pate told WAFB that he is currently looking for a “spirit of peace” to reach Baton Rouge, producing “a new standard of what I call righteousness and brotherly love.”
“There’s gonna be such a move of God among people,” he said. “There’s gonna be such a move with some of the most violent people in this city.”
“Instead of [people] out here killing and robbing and hurting people, [there will be people] bringing peace and joy and victory and forgiving and love, [and] you’re gonna have to come out and report it,” he asserted.
On May 3, Pate posted a video to Facebook noting that he shut himself in the prayer room.
“What it means to be in the prayer house is that I can just spend 24 hours a day talking to my God—just being with my God and seeing the fruit of God touching your life,” Pate said.
“God promised us that wherever his people gather together in his name, he will be their God in their midst … I want to be like your Moses on the hill crying out to God [to work] in your life so you won’t have to wait years and years to see the presence of God,” he added.
“God is looking for us to be living sacrifices, sacrificing our lives, so that others would be set free,” he said.
As reported by WAFB News, Pate does not plan on leaving his prayer room for the foreseeable future.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/LincolnRogers
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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