By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) — For more than an hour, clergy and public officials prayed 6or Gov. Jeff Landry and other elected officials, the military, law enforcement and the state, March 26, at the Crowne Plaza Executive Center in Baton Rouge, uniting 1,020 legislators, pastors, businessmen and others as the body of Christ just days after the start of the 2026 state legislative session.
“It is an honor and pleasure to come before the Lord with you in prayer for our state this morning,” said Governor’s Prayer Breakfast Chair Brandi Cummins, a member with First Baptist Church, Covington. “What a privilege that we have been given by our Heavenly Father to bring our needs to Him in prayer.
“He told us that He wants us to do this,” she continued. “He says, in His Word through the apostle Paul, not to worry about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, to bring our request to Him and His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ, Jesus.
“As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of this country’s independence, we are thankful to God, who is worthy of all worship and praise, and for the men and women who have made this freedom possible,” she said. “What a blessed people we are.”
Cummins was one of several Louisiana Baptists who took part in the morning’s event. Others on the program included Waylon Bailey, pastor, FBC Covington, who offered a prayer for the state and governor; Jay Johnston, pastor, First Baptist Church, Melville, and a member of the steering committee, who offered a prayer for statewide clergy; Rep. Kim Carver, member, FBC Covington, who recited Psalm 86:4-5; and Rep. Mark Abraham, member, Trinity Baptist Church, Lake Charles, who read aloud Matthew 6:9-10.
Bailey reminded the crowd that Jesus is a great friend to them.
“God, we come to you in prayer, asking You to bless our state, to bless Gov. Landry, First Lady Sharon, their son, JT, that your blessings would be upon them,” he said. “God, we love this state. We love what you have given us and where we live and where we serve, and we ask your blessing upon us.
“God, as the legislature begins its session, I pray for your wisdom,” he said. “I pray for your guidance and your direction, that you would show us your ways and that you would remind us, Gov. Landry and the entire state government, that righteousness exalts a nation, and that we should be those people of righteousness before you, God.”
Johnston, in his prayer for clergy, reminded the crowd that every pastor needs a friend and asked all pastors to stand.
“As we have these men and women of God standing up today, Lord, we want to pray Your blessings upon them,” he said. “We thank you for the call that’s on their life. Father, we thank you for the way that you’re working in and through each and every one of them. And Father, today, I pray that you would just rain down upon them that they would experience your love, perhaps like never before today and God that they would be faithful each and every day to preach and teach the very Word of God, Father, for the people of this state need to hear truth.
“And we know truth comes from your Word,” he continued. “So, I just pray that you just pour out upon them today. I thank you for them. I thank you for their families, and Father, I thank you for the churches that they represent, that you would just rain down upon them, pour upon them, use them in their communities, in their towns and their villages for the good of those places and bringing all glory and honor to you.”
Landry, who was unable to attend the breakfast, appeared via a video message, thanking the crowd for their prayers for him and legislators as they make critical decisions in the coming months.
“It’s an honor to have faith-based leaders from across our state gathered together to give gratitude to God for the many blessings He has given us in our great state,” Landry said. “We’re excited to welcome today’s keynote speaker, American military chaplain Jeff Streucker. Jeff has dedicated his life to serving our country and our Lord. We are immensely grateful to Jeff for joining us today to share his incredible story.
“Our family’s faith is at the forefront of everything we do, and we are thankful for all of those who are committed to spreading their faith and serving their communities and focusing on a family,” he continued. “Please be assured that Sharon and I are praying for you, and we appreciate your continued prayers for our family. May God bless all of you; may God bless the great state of Louisiana.”
Keynote speaker Jeff Struecker, a pastor (2 Cities Church, a Southern Baptist affiliated congregation in Columbus, Georgia), seminary professor (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, N.C.), and military chaplain, said prayer is the most powerful weapon Christ followers have. He shared how prayer helped him as a U.S. Army Ranger during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.
What began as a humanitarian mission turned into a deadly ambush when his helicopter was downed, he said.
“Prayer is the weapon, perhaps the only weapon that can give you a peace, give you comfort, can dispel fear in the valley of the shadow of death,” he said. “And I may be a living example of how powerful this weapon is.”
Facing an uncertain future, Struecker said he believed he would die that day but had hope because he was a follower of Jesus.
“I just simply cried out to God, ‘God help me, because I’m in trouble right now and I’m scared,’” he recalled. “I started to remember what happened for me 2,000 years ago.
“At the back of that Humvee, I started to pray ‘God, if there is any way possible, I can’t see the outcome, but if there’s any way possible, let this thing pass for me,” he continued. “I don’t want to go back out in those city streets. And then I remember what Jesus said next, and it was almost like he was whispering those words right into my ear when He said, ‘not My will, but Yours be done.’”
Miraculously, God spared his life and Struecker returned to his base the next morning. He said some of his fellow Rangers noticed his prayer and wanted to know more about Jesus.
“I had Rangers that were waking me up saying, ‘Sergeant, will you tell me about this Jesus? Because I listened to your voice over the radio, and everybody was totally freaking out. But you sounded like you were calm,” he said. “’And I don’t even know how that’s possible, but I know that there must be something real about this Jesus that you worship. How can I have what you have?’”
Struecker encouraged the crowd to use the weapon of prayer in their lives, too.
“The kind of belief that I’m challenging you to is the belief where you bet it all on Him,” he said. “I’m challenging you to the belief in a God who is there with you in the valley when you’re going through some hard times.
“For some of my buddies, God was just a lucky charm that they rubbed when they were in life or death circumstances, but He was not their living hope,” he continued. “And today, I want to challenge you to make Jesus your living hope.”
