One of the prayers was for the men of this state (and this nation) to be better fathers and stand up for what is right. That in and of itself is not a problem but it was framed in a way which I find distasteful. Multiple times the prayer was offered that we would love our families more than the islamic fundimentalists love sharia law. More than the jihadis love martyrdom.
It isn't that I disagree with the sentiment. I do want Americans to have a greater passion for freedom, their families and God than the Moslems do for Islam. It just seemed tacky to use that comparison in a prayer. It almost seemed like gloating. Why not simply pray for greater passion, and then pray our enemies (as Jesus instructed).
I'm not dissing the whole prayer rally; on the whole, it was excellent. The most moving part was when a speaker asked for those with family who were in our military and serving overseas. He then asked those around those people to lay hands on the family members as he prayed for our troops. I know the man in front of me was moved. He later removed his glasses and was wiping away tears.
The King's keen eye, specially trained for crowd estimation by years of sitting alone in his office, estimates that the crowd was probably around 2500, possibly as high as 3000. (No guarantees there...it very well could be double or half that figure.)
