On the Summit’s Horizon: When Women Pray Relentlessly
By Rev. Christopher W. Riley
FWIS Contributing Writer
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Quila Pettus, First Lady of Greater Progressive Baptist Church, where her husband Anthony Pettus is the Senior Pastor had a vision that was birthed out of a traumatic experience. Her mother came to visit in October of 2020, and she fell sick with COVID-19. “I contracted COVID-19 in September of the same year. I realize now that I had the experience so I could be her caregiver. My mother was admitted to Parkview Hospital Regional Medical Center after going unresponsive at our home. We are blessed to have a doctor who lives across the street who assisted until the EMS arrived. Once she was in the hospital, I was told that I could not go upstairs once she was admitted due to the COVID protocols that were in place at the time. This was the beginning of a 21-day stay where she got progressively worse.”
“I received a call at church stating that she was not going to make it. The medical staff had turned her over so she could breathe out of her back. I fell to my knees at that moment at church. I made a clarion call via social media encouraging everyone who could and would pray in the parking lot of PRMC. There were days that I would have others join me or I would pray by myself. I didn’t know where she was in the hospital, but I knew she was there. One day, the nurses stood her up to the window.”
Pettus began to pray daily with a prayer partner in 2022. She was later led to lead a prayer gathering. In addition to her mother’s situation, her granddaughter got sick and was admitted to the hospital in 2021. She had a seizure and a temperature of 104. “I began to walk the halls praying with the same faith. I encouraged my daughter to go to war for her baby.” On New Year’s Eve of 2022, my husband got sick and was admitted to the hospital for six days. It was second nature, Muscle Memory, I had to pray. I stayed in a state of prayer and eventually When Women Pray was born. I wanted everyone to wake up daily and pray. God knows your voice.
2023 was the birth year of both When Women Pray and the Resilient Woman Conference. One of the greatest lessons learned was the message of Hebrews 11:6 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. I also became intentional.
Pastor Pettus saw the potential in his wife prior to Lady Quila seeing the same potential. He told her that she would shock the world. “I had no idea that I would be used by God in this way.”
When Women Pray Relentlessly will be held at Greater Progressive Baptist Church, 2215 John Street, 6 p.m on April 11. This year will host Rev. Dr. Danielle L. Brown who is the pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey. “We are also incorporating a special prayer for Generation Now and Generation Next where I am having my daughter and granddaughter pray.” On August 7, 2021, Dr. Brown was elected the tenth Senior Pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey. She is the first woman to hold this position since the church’s founding in 1908. A natural leader, Rev. Dr. Brown has served in various capacities where she has worked to develop and implement ministry programs and strategies. She has a passion for mentoring and assisting in the development of faith and community leaders. (Our Pastor | We Are Shiloh)
“I encourage everyone of you to come and be blessed in the midst of other women. We must be relentless in our prayer, he may not answer right away. It is important we remain in a posture of prayer. Come and see and feel, you will be grabbed by the spirit. My prayer is that some women come to Christ that night. My mandate is to disciple as many women as possible. I grew up in the church but had no idea of the magnitude of being a Christian. It is my burden and my passion,” said Pettus.
Save the Date: Resilient Women’s Conference 2025, November 7-9 at Brotherhood Mutual on Friday and Saturday. Sunday programming will be at the church.
James 5:16
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.