Contact: Wayne Dillard, Prayer Central, 757-963-1414, wayne@prayercentral.net

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 21, /Christian Newswire/ -- The Baghdad Prayer Patrol, a project of the Christian website prayercentral.net, is asking churches across the nation to join in a special prayer of protection on Sunday, July 1st, for American troops stationed abroad.  The prayer, "Protect Our Troops," is freely available now as a church bulletin insert that can be downloaded from the internet.

Wayne Dillard, the Baghdad Prayer Patrol's founder, believes the prayer is timely for the Fourth of July, stating, "As we gather together to worship and celebrate our freedom, let's remember our troops who are fighting to preserve it." 

Dillard, a Christian missionary serving in South Asia, hopes churches will take a portion of their services to offer prayer for those in the armed services on July 1st, but his project is ongoing.  The Prayer Patrol, which was launched in April to coincide with the troop surge into Baghdad, urges people to sign up for one-minute daily prayer assignments.  "The response has been awesome," said Dillard.  "People are very concerned for our troops, but most don't know what to pray.  The Prayer Patrol gives them targets and connects them with the prayers of others."

Dillard says thousands have signed up for the Prayer Patrol on the internet.  Along with prayer assignments, participants receive a satellite map with close up views of Baghdad neighborhoods designated as hot spots for prayer.

Information on the Baghdad Prayer Patrol, including free downloadable church bulletin inserts, is available at www.prayercentral.net/baghdad.