Our History

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7

Background

A prayer chain is a network of Christ-followers who support others with their prayers of intercession, praise, and encouragement.  Members of the prayer chain routinely pray for the Lord’s blessing, healing, comfort, and sustaining grace on friends and family members.

In about 2007, the Class of ’74 Prayer Chain started when we prayed for Dave Petraeus (C1) as he deployed to take command in Iraq.  We then began praying for all classmates who were still on active duty, about two dozen at the time.  Over the years, the prayer concerns have expanded so that we now pray for any classmate or his immediate family members, and widows of classmates who have a special need, whether it be physical, job-related, or mourning the loss of a loved one.

Over the next dozen years or so, classmates learned by word of mouth that the ministry had been formed and asked to be added to the Daily Prayer Email list.

In the Spring of 2020, as our country and classmates began to experience the Coronavirus and COVID-19, our leadership team felt that we should take the ministry to a higher level. Through the newly established Outreach Team, about eight of us began to personally connect with classmates who were receiving the Daily Prayer Email. We were able to have meaningful and encouraging phone conversations with most of them. Old relationships were rekindled and many new relationships were formed. We also began to conduct online Worship webinars and prayer events through Zoom.

As our 50-Year Affiliate Class of 2024 prepared to begin their Academy journey in the Summer of 2020, we began to pray for those cadets. We continue to pray for this class daily.

Through the remainder of 2020, we had the privilege of conducting spontaneous times of prayer on Zoom for classmates who were undergoing significant health issues. We continue to have these one-off Zoom Prayer Calls. During the later half of the Army football season, our ministry hosted several Zoom calls with Class of ’74 Football Analyst Conrad Crane as he shared his insights and fielded questions about the team and games.

This website was launched in October of 2020.

In early 2024, the Daily Prayer was emailed to 165 classmates and widows of classmates. During our 50th reunion over 110 classmates attended a Fellowship and Prayer activity where we strengthened our bonds with one another as Christ followers and engaged in prayer for one another and our classmates.

2025 Update – After more than a decade of leading this ministry effort, Ted Davis turned over the leadership of the ministry to Joe Greer.  As of January, 192 classmates representing all 36 cadet companies, and their widows are receiving the Daily Prayer email.