24/7 Prayer Initiative: To Your Battle Stations!

Prayer warriors, this is your call to arms! Every Salvationist around the Southern Territory is invited to join in spiritual battle, uniting in prayer for the next year. What does this look like? 365 days of prayer: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The 24/7 Prayer initiative invites us all to join our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in falling to our knees, entering prayer closets, and marching around our communities, fully surrendering to the great things our God has in store for our future.

Beginning this year at Commissioning on Saturday, June 6, the Southern Territory will embark on a journey of prayer which will culminate during the Centennial Celebration on June 5, 2027.

“We’ve already been praying for a long time for what will happen with the Centennial,” Major Anne Westmoreland, territorial ministries to women secretary and territorial secretary for spiritual life development, explains, “praying that it will be much more than just a moment in time at an event, but that it will be a catalyst for something new, whatever God really wants, and whatever direction He wants to take us.”

The theme for the Centennial Celebration is “All for Jesus,” following our Territorial Priorities. When we pray, we are surrendering to God, and surrender means giving our all for Jesus, Major Anne shares. “That is why we are inviting soldiers, friends, and officers to join in prayer.”

“We will pray around the clock for a full year,” she continues. “We want to make sure that every hour of every day is covered because there’s power in knowing that we are praying around the clock, in knowing that we are being prayed for, that we are praying for one another.”

“Prayer is vital,” Territorial Commander Commissioner Kelly Igleheart tells us. “It’s one of the Christian disciplines that keep us connected to God and keeps us walking in unison with Him. Through prayer, so many things happen. It’s encouraging to us. It reminds us He’s on the throne, that He cares.”

Territorial leadership looked at the size of each division or command and divided up the calendar for the next year with the understanding that each corps or center could take on the responsibility for about a day, or 24 hours, of prayer apiece.

“We encourage everyone to participate, but however the divisions will divide their time is up to them,” Major Anne says. “It will look a little bit different in each division.”

A special prayer flag will travel from division to division, visually leading the way for the movement of prayer as it is passed around the territory.

During Commissioning 2026, the territory will launch a Centennial Celebration website. This new site will include a section on the 24/7 Prayer initiative including the schedule and resources on prayer walks, praying scripture, intercessory prayer, spiritual warfare, what to do when we don’t hear God, and much more. There will also be a list of existing resources, books, and useful apps that will help guide and enrich the experience for all participants.

The territory will include suggested prayer topics and focus areas so we can be united in prayer, but every corps is encouraged to pray specifically for the needs of their community, also.

Being united in prayer also includes praying for one another. To this end, the territory is creating a new feature in the Corps Management System which will allow Salvationists to submit prayer requests as well as pray for others’ submissions.

For those ready to get involved, ask your corps officer for more information on your division’s schedule and topics. “Also, don’t wait,” Major Anne urges. “Even though we have specific commands praying at certain times, we can all pray at all times. We want to encourage that. We want to encourage prayer.”

Another way to get involved is to volunteer to help set up a prayer room in your local corps or location. “We would love for every corps or center, every ARC, every shelter, maybe even thrift stores,” to set up specific places for prayer, Major Anne shares. “It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, but a place that’s set aside for prayer. We would love for there to be a dedicated space in every area where we have The Salvation Army.”

However, she continues, prayer is not confined to a particular space. “Sometimes it’s hard for us to sit down and say, ‘Now I am going to pray for this hour.’ It can actually be very hard. It’s a good discipline, and I think that we should all do that, but just as important is the way that we pray throughout the day when we do other things.” Some people may pray while driving, exercising, or simply doing small tasks throughout the day. “We’re all different, and so we pray in different ways.”

“We can just speak to Him at any point. It doesn’t have to wait,” Commissioner Kelly encourages. “It’s your heart speaking to God’s heart.”

Another more active option is a prayer walk. “Prayer walks are so important to explore because they also enable us to see our community in a different light, to see people in a different way,” Major Anne shares. “When we walk in our community, we ask God to show us what He sees, what He would have us see. I think we start noticing different things and we start seeing things differently. We start seeing people differently, and that can be very powerful.”

Prayer is also for all ages. The Spiritual Life Development Department is working in conjunction with the Territorial Youth Department to create resources that are specific to youth and children, ensuring that everyone will be able to participate in this movement.

The territory hopes that this initiative will lead to the creation of new prayer habits, both for individual Salvationists and in our corps. “This will be a whole movement of prayer and maybe even some new spiritual routines — a good spiritual discipline,” Major Anne says. “We are certainly hoping that this will not just be this year, but that this will help us to deepen our prayer life corporately and also individually.”

Commissioner Kelly hopes that, as a territory, “prayer gets embedded in our routines more regularly, and that the depth of those prayers resonates more with our praise, our desires, and our needs.”

Major Anne also prays that this movement will spark revival. “Revival starts with prayer. It starts on our knees. It starts with surrender. So, the ultimate desire is revival, that we would see people being saved. That we would see a movement of continual prayer sweep across our territory.”

Commissioner Kelly urges the Southern Territory to pray bold prayers. “I think if Salvationists would pray more of those kinds of prayers, they would see God do a lot more in their lives.”

“I don’t think we can imagine what it will look like when we agree in prayer,” Major Anne says. “I think God will do above and beyond; He will do even more than what we can imagine.”

As a territory, we can pray together Paul’s prayer from Ephesians 3:20- 21: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

“That’s our hope; that’s our desire,” Major Anne shares, “that we would see the fruit of that even as we gather for the Centennial.”

“And we hope this will just ignite the flame of a deeper, more passionate and consistent prayer life for believers,” Commissioner Kelly affirms.

More information about the 24/7 Prayer initiative will be available following Commissioning 2026. Talk to your corps officer about getting involved today!