A pastor from Louisiana has shut himself in a Prayer House as he seeks restoration and peace for his community.
Bishop Dwight Pate of Church Pointe Ministries in Baton Rouge has been locked up in the Prayer House since May 8, 2023, and he plans to stay there until God does something miraculous in his community.
"What it means to be back here in the prayer house is that I can just sit 24 hours a day, talking to my God, just being with my God and seeing the fruit of God touching your life, your loved ones' life," said Bishop through tears in a video on Facebook.
This isn't the first time that Bishop Pate has done this. To date, he has sought refuge in the Prayer House three times.
The first time was in 1994 when he stayed for seven and a half months. In 2000, the Bishop shut himself in the Prayer House for five months to identify with the pain and suffering of the elderly. 2014 was his longest stay. The pastor received over 5000 calls for prayer and did not leave the church grounds for eleven and a half months.
This time, Bishop Pate is praying that God will take murder off the streets of Baton Rouge and remove fear from the hearts of the people in his community.
"The only place that it can be solved is the church and the teaching and the loving of God's people. I believe that prayer can change the hearts of the individuals creating all of the violence in town," said the Bishop in an interview with WAFB9 news.
The Prayer House started as a used car lot before Bishop Dwight felt the call of God and transformed it into the Prayer House it is today.
He started by preaching to 50 empty chairs. Before he knew it, the outreach was filled with people seeking freedom from drugs and prostitution.
Bishop Pate says he believes his prayers will lead to a move of God among people. He says, eventually, instead of going out killing, robbing and robbing one another, violent people will bring peace, joy, victory, forgiveness and love to the community.
While in the Prayer House, he plans to hand out 200,000 bottles of holy oil.
Bishop Pate says he plans to stay in the Prayer House as long as God wants him to.