SANDPOINT — Prayer has the power to transform.

Whether it be a home, a nation or a people, prayer can move and revive all that it reaches.

As he closed out the hour-long Day of Prayer service, Hidden Valley Worship Center youth pastor Wil Bush told those gathered that prayer is the first step of revival.

“Revival does not go where prayer has not been,” Bush said. “If we want to see a move of God in this city, in this generation, it begins in moments like this, where we take everything and we put it at the feet of Jesus, because he is Lord over all and this city belongs to him; this nation belongs to him.”

Thursday’s iteration of the National Day of Prayer was the first student-led event in Sandpoint, with students both performing in a concert of praise and worship music and leading prayers, concluding the hour-long event.

The event drew between 100 and 150 members of the community’s faithful, many of them teens and families making the most of the shift to an afternoon gathering. Organizers welcomed the crowd, noting the annual day gives area residents both a chance to celebrate their faith and an opportunity to pray over different areas of influence in today’s world.

“We pray for the Lord and the Spirit of God to begin to infiltrate, to begin to move, because our nation is in desperate need of a move of God,” Bush told the crowd. “I truly believe that revival is the cure to all ills. It is what our world is in desperate need of; we are in need of a move of God, people.”

Praising the teens who helped lead the service and celebrate God through music, Bush said their hunger for God is visible and profound.

“We are seeing a hunger in this generation unlike anything we have ever seen,” Bush said. “I’m watching each day as teens are going around and ministering to people. They’re praying for people in grocery stores. They’re stopping and sharing the gospel on the streets. They’re praying for the sick and they’re seeing people healed.”

Bush said the students’ ministry is founded on the “shoulders of prayer” from previous generations — residents who have long invested in the community and the power of prayer.

“Prayer is no fitful and short-lived thing,” he said. “It is no voice crying, unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice that goes into God’s ear, and it lives as long as God’s ear is open to holy things. As long as God’s heart is alive to holy things, prayer is heard.”

Students prayed over the crowd — and for everything from the nation’s churches and governments to its media, schools and businesses.

Praying over Idaho’s churches was Eli Norling, who praised their ability to bring Christians together.

“Our churches are a place for your people to meet together, to worship, grow and find strength in other followers and, most importantly, spend time with you, God,” Norling prayed. “This is why, above so many things, we need wisdom to lead and cultivate the most holy places we have, to keep the sanctity and beauty of our church rooted in you, God.”

The teen invited the community to protect the church by seeking God’s unending power and glory, whether through a mission trip to a country hungry for God’s word or a group potluck.

“So I pray, give us strength, for all the churches across the world to not be afraid, but to go and do your beautiful will, God,” Norling said.

In praying for families, both in the community and throughout the world, Aaron Kent thanked God for both the beauty of the region and the ability to worship. He asked that families be protected and kept safe.

“Families should be a safe haven for kids and parents alike,” Kent said as he prayed. “… Lord, the only true way to fix all of our problems is to put you in our lives.”

He called on those gathered to place God first, whether gathering in prayer or holding Bible studies to grow stronger in faith.

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil,” Kent said, quoting from Corinthians 13:4-5, before adding, “Let us love one another.”

Praying for the nation’s governments, from the local to the national, Brandon Eastley quoted from Psalms 33:11-12 and called on all officials to seek God and his guidance in all their actions.

Praying over the media, Connor McClure noted that social media can be a dark place and called for it to become a tool that is regulated and used in a responsible way. He called on movie studios and executives to tell stories that connect with good instead of evil.

A teen who attends Cedar Hills called on the nation’s artists and creatives to gain inspiration from the “ultimate artist who created every person with care and love and value.”

In praying for education, a youth from Harvest Valley Worship Center noted the power of God and the opportunity for revival in the nation’s schools.

“I believe that hearts are being stirred and moved, and I just pray right now, with authority, that more and more hearts will start sprouting because more and more youth are accepting their role as gardeners in the schools, watering and planting your word,” the youth prayed, her voice filled with emotion.

In praying for local businesses, Griffin Lester called for business leaders and workers to exemplify God’s love. He asked that God serve as the cornerstone for businesses, allowing them to serve him.

“I pray for peace and just rebuke any frustrations we have about paid parking and anything like that,” Lester said. “God, I pray that we would be able to respect the rules that our town puts in place, regardless of how annoying they may seem or how they affect us.”

Wrapping up the prayers, Bush asked for God’s protection over the military and called on those gathered for the National Day of Prayer to lift up service members.

“Lord, we ask that you would provide for their every need, that you would be their warmth from the cold,” Bush said. “Lord, that you would satisfy their hunger, that you would meet them with your presence in the midst of the most horrific places. God, we know that you see them join and that you honor their sacrifice. … We ask that your protection would rest over them and that you would see them home safely.”

    Local residents take part in the National Day of Prayer event Thursday at Farmin Park in Sandpoint.