The .Plan

Skokie, Ill. (TsaiWire Services) — Illinois Christian Paula Daniels shattered the world record for repetitive prayer language with a stunning display of monotony at  Cornerstone Baptist Evangelical Charismatic Evergreen Church of the Blessed Covenant (CBECECBC) in Skokie, Ill. this past Sunday night.

The 24 year-old’s strength and speed saw her use 45 justs, 37 thats, 33 ums, 30 reallys, 27 Lords, 15 Father Gods, 13 Lord Father Gods, and 7 Lord Father God Jesus’s during a 20-minute closing prayer streak — eclipsing the previous mark, set by Marylander Esther Kim in 1995, by at least 13 justs.

Daniels had no intention of setting a new record. “I would just kind of pray to God, and the words came tumbling out,” she said. “I just, um, praise God for this victory. That in Him all things are possible. Just that God, um, really came through today.”

In the marathon worship session at CBECECBC, Daniels said it helped to be alongside the 3,000 other “prayer warriors” who were also lifting up their holy hands to God. “They were, um, just building a mighty prayer shield. Um, that God would just really lift up their burdens. All of a sudden I just really felt a burden to pray for our President, um, and, um, that — just that he would win the Holy War he is waging on behalf of this country.”

Daniels had the right mix of pedigree and heritage for this victory. Prior to worshipping with her brothers and sisters in CBECECBC, she came to Christ during her high school years in Peoria, Ill., where she was also a member of Woodside City of Praise Church (WCPC). “There were just a lot of Promise Keepers at WCPC,” she explained. “When I moved to Skokie, I shopped around for a church for a bit. I chose CBECECBC because I really just felt a sense of community there.”

The Illinoian never faltered as she felt Jesus lifting her up in the most exhiliarating praise night of her life, ahead of her closest rivals, Nathan Perry and Samantha Booker, both of Evanston, Ill. Early on during the praise session, she quickly opened up a lead with a string of appellations.

“Sometimes I would, um, be conscious of what I was saying, so I would just try to, um, mix it up,” Daniels crowed. “If it wasn’t ‘God’, it was ‘Father God’, ‘Father Lord Jesus’, or even ‘Lord Father God’.”

Daniels’ visible demonstrations of her faith had a greater impact than she realized. Derrick Warner, a non-believer, was also at CBECECBC that day. Following the service, he said he saw Daniels point her finger skyward and look up, crossing her heart and wagging her finger for emphasis. “That just made such an impact on me,” Warner said. “Before I came here today, I just didn’t realize that it’s only in Christ that all things are possible. I was just, like, ‘So that’s what Pedro Martinez is doing on the mound.’”

There were some in the congregation who were not as supportive of the win, however. “What is it with the justs?” grumbled fellow congregant Grace Lee of nearby Lincolnwood, Ill. “I’ll admit, I occasionally sign my e-mails ‘In Him’ or ‘IC’ — but I don’t like the idea of using Father God and Father Lord Jesus as nothing more than a comma. And I find it very hard to keep my mind on Christ when the person next to me is ‘God-God‘ing and just-thating all the time.”

Daniels, however, was clearly undeterred as she chattered excitedly about her plans to attend the upcoming Urbana Conference. “It’s just very important to me to just be praising God. I get all emotional after hearing the CBECECBC Praise Band sing the ‘Power of Your Love’ chorus for the fourth time.”

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