originally published on watermission.org

What a privilege and blessing it is to live in a country where we have the freedom to participate in a National Day of Prayer. Created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed by President Harry S. Truman, the National Day of Prayer is significant because it prompts us to remember how our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when making decisions. Each year, the first Thursday of May is set aside as a time to pray for our nation and to come humbly before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders, unity for our country, and His grace upon each of us.

Love is one of the core values of Water Mission. One foundational way we love people is by praying for each other, for those we serve, and for those with whom we partner. This year, on National Day of Prayer, I am reminded that we are called to love. In fact, the 2019 event theme is inspired by John 13:34: Love one another as I have loved you.

At Water Mission, we believe that prayer is inseparable from our work of providing access to safe water in rural communities and disaster areas. While we always strive to ensure that our practices and technology are best-in-class, it is through the Lord’s providence and provision that we’ve been able to install safe water and sanitation solutions, foster community development, cultivate relationships, and shepherd resources effectively and widely. Without prayer, we wouldn’t just be lost—we would be amiss. Our vision is to see all people have access to safe water and an opportunity to experience God’s love. And our mission of ending the global water crisis—which affects 2.1 billion people—can seem insurmountable, but we face this work with the power of prayer.

Every morning, our workday begins with Huddle, a 30-minute staff-wide devotional and prayer time. We intercede on behalf of one another, our families, our partners, the communities we serve, and our colleagues who work tirelessly around the world. Throughout the day, we begin and end meetings with prayer, bringing both big and small concerns before the Lord.

One of our engineers, Taylor Edmonds, attests to this reliance on God’s movement and favor. She said, “One of the things I love about working at Water Mission is that we pray for the big things—like an end to the water crisis, success in our projects around the world, and for people to know Jesus Christ—but we also take the time to pray for the seemingly menial matters.”

We ask for the Lord’s blessing over our disaster response efforts, for example. After Cyclone Idai hit southeastern Africa, we mobilized to provide safe water to people in need in Malawi and Mozambique. Due to the storm, roads were blocked and airports were closed. During Huddle, we petitioned corporately for open roads and available landing strips. By that afternoon, we received notification from on-the-ground staff that they were ready to receive shipments — the Lord cleared paths and opened an airport! We were then able to distribute water purification packets and install safe water systems at camps hosting thousands of internally displaced people.

And each day, we pray for the well-being of the men, women, and children we serve through our safe water and sanitation solutions. Our approach to community development does not end with installations and training sessions. To us, the service continues in the form of prayer.

We know that the Lord does not always move in the ways we expect or hope. His answers are not always immediate, nor are they always what we’ve anticipated. But we believe in the unstoppable power of prayer and that God is at work in and through us. We continue to pray boldly, knowing that the Lord always hears, always sees, and always answers, even if it’s not in the ways we envision. We hope that you’ll pray with us as we continue to pursue the mission to which God has called us.