Christians from every state gather in Washington to pray for 'spiritual shift' in America

Thousands of Christians from all 50 states in the U.S. gathered at the National Mall in Washington D.C. this weekend to take part in an event called "Awaken the Dawn," in which people worship in dozens of tents and pray for a "spiritual shift" in America.

"Awaken the Dawn: America's Tent of Meeting" kicked off on Friday night with a call to repentance on the main stage, where about 30,000 people in attendance.

Each state had a tent set up at the Mall with a time of worship and prayer, with several other regional tents hosting special events such as additional musicians for worship.

Some of those who worked at the tents have traveled from as far as Alaska and Hawaii, with the hopes of being a part of a birthing ground for revival.

Michael Beardslee of Phoenix, Arizona told The Christian Post that he took time off work to attend the event with his parents because he was inspired by the vision of "Awaken the Dawn," calling people from all 50 states to come and worship in front of the Capitol building.

"I see Awaken the Dawn as part of a bigger story that God is telling," said Beardslee, who is a member of New Promise Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Phoenix.

Beardslee has been praying and fasting for revival to sweep the nation for the past 20 years, and his church hosts a weekly regional prayer meeting called the Phoenix House of Prayer.

"There is a story that the enemy is telling in our nation, and he likes a lot of attention and he gets the attention a lot of the time," he remarked, adding that it is God's story that will prevail.

"I don't know what God's going to do and how He's going to do it, but I know He works in mysterious ways," he continued.

Speakers at the event included Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer, Francis Chan of We Are Church, Heidi Baker of Iris Global, Shawn Bolz of Expressions 58 and several others.

Steve Johnson of Grand Island, Nebraska's state coordinator for the event, said he believes that there could not be a better time for the event given the tragedies that occurred just in the last few months.

He noted that the event was expected to happen in 2018 at one point, but it became "very clear" that it needed to happen this year.

"This event is coming on the heels of perhaps the greatest tragedy since 9/11 with the Las Vegas events, all intertwined with the racial and political unrest in our nation. I can't think of a more succinct time to reach out to our creator and invite his compassion and direction to our nation and her leaders," he said.