National Salvation Prayer Meeting

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term guguk (救國) means "saving the nation." A national salvation prayer meeting is a gathering in which a community comes together to pray for the nation when the country as a whole faces hardship, such as war, loss of sovereignty, disaster, or political and social turmoil. In a broader sense, the term "prayer for the nation" also includes intercessory prayer (prayer offered on behalf of others) in which the nation and its people are a regular prayer concern in ordinary worship.

Biblical and Historical Background

The following passages are frequently cited as a basis for praying for the nation:

• 2 Chronicles 7:14: the promise that God will heal the land if His people humble themselves and pray
• Nehemiah 1:4: Nehemiah fasting and praying after hearing of the ruin of Jerusalem
• Daniel 9:3: Daniel's prayer confessing the sins of his people
• Jeremiah 29:7: the command to pray for the peace of the city to which the people had been carried away captive
• 1 Timothy 2:1–2: the exhortation to pray for kings and for all who are in authority

In the Korean church, prayer meetings for the nation were held as early as the final years of the Korean Empire. Around the time of the Eulsa Treaty (1905), national salvation prayer meetings are reported to have been held at Sangdong Church, where Jeon Deok-gi served as pastor, and at other churches. Later, during the March First Movement of the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, and the military regimes of the 1970s and 1980s, churches continued to hold prayer meetings for the nation, each from its own perspective.

Practice in the Korean Church

In the Korean church today, prayer for the nation takes several forms:

• Regular prayer times: In early morning prayer meetings, Friday prayer meetings, and the representative prayer offered during Sunday worship, the nation and its people, government leaders, and the reunification of North and South Korea are lifted up as prayer concerns.
• Commemorative services: Special prayer meetings for the nation are held around March First Independence Movement Day, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War (June 25), and Liberation Day Commemoration Sunday.
• Prayer meetings on current affairs: When matters of great national importance arise, such as elections, national disasters, or security crises, individual congregations, denominations, or interchurch organizations hold prayer meetings.

The manner and emphasis of prayer differ from church to church. Pentecostal churches and churches with a strong revival-meeting tradition often pray intensively, accompanying their prayer with corporate audible prayer and fasting, while liturgical churches make use of set forms of prayer. Differences also appear in what is prayed for. Ecumenical bodies such as the National Council of Churches in Korea have emphasized human rights, justice, peace, and reconciliation, whereas conservative interchurch organizations and churches tend to emphasize national security, defense of the established political order, and public morality.

National salvation prayer meetings have at times become controversial when combined with particular political rallies. Supporters regard such meetings as a legitimate way for people of faith to respond to the realities of their nation. Critics worry that the church may become a tool of a particular political faction. This debate is treated in more detail in the article Church and Politics.