The way Pastor Virginia Domligan sees things, there's not an area of life that can't be helped by a little prayer:

Education. War. Homelessness. Families. Prisons. The poor. Businesses. Police. Even the media. All of them could use a blessing.

So yesterday more than 3,000 people joined Domligan and dozens of other Christian pastors at Aloha Stadium for the fourth annual statewide prayer watch. Before it was over, there was a prayer to cover just about everyone.

"With all the challenges we face across the state, we come together once a year to pray in unity," said Domligan, pastor of the Prayer Center of the Pacific, the group that helped organize yesterday's event on O'ahu and smaller ones on Neighbor Islands.

The idea, Domligan said, is that there's power in prayer and more power in praying together.

The event was a testament to the ability prayer has to unify different congregations and nationalities. In the shaded stands, one could find signs of nearly every Christian denomination — and beyond. There were Jesus T-shirts and yarmulke; dreadlocks and board shorts, conch shells and shofars. The crowd ranged from infants to senior citizens.

"Prayer has a way of transcending cultural boundaries," said Eric Hurd, pastor of the Sons of Issachar. "It can be exciting to see all these people filling the stadium in the knowledge that there are some things only God can change."

Josh Marburger, 21, came from Maui with his fiance, Nicole Bisera, 22, to be part of the gathering. The two, who plan to marry in May, said they would pray for wisdom for their lives together as well as to help make the world a better place.

"There's a synergy here that's really cool," Marburger said.

Ano and Lilieni Lulu joined about 100 other all white-clad members of the Lighthouse Fellowship in Waipahu taking part in the prayer.

"Any problem there is can be affected by a prayer," Ano said. "When you support a prayer, you ultimately believe in its power to perform miracles."

Domligan said the annual prayer watch, held on the first Saturday of January to get the new year off to an auspicious start, has grown rapidly from its beginnings four years ago in the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawai'i.

Pastors from congregations across the state were on hand yesterday to offer more than a dozen prayers covering everything from global evangelism to hospitals and mental institutions.

Lt. Gov. James Aiona, who gave a welcoming prayer, compared the event to the University of Hawai'i team that had recently captivated the entire state.

"We're prayer warriors here," Aiona said. "And just like the Warrior football team and its fans, we're here and going to succeed because of one thing: We believe."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.