Ministers expect families to flock to sanctuaries in search of healing after the nation's most devastating attack in history.

''I think more people want to get closer to God, and find answers to why what happened happened,'' said the Rev. Gregory Fuller, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church on Wrightsboro Road, where he expects standing room only today.

Prayer services have drawn crowds to churches across the country during the past five days as Americans have struggled to come to grips with the fragility of human life.

During the stages of coping, people will feel a need to look inward, said the Rev. Dan King, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta on Walton Way Extension.

''We yearn for spiritual affirmation, which you can't get watching television at home,'' the Rev. King said. ''My sense is that there's a deep sense of sorrow, a deep sense of resolve.''

Those who have turned away from the church are likely to turn back in times such as these, said the Rev. Lou Scales Jr., associate rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Riverwalk Augusta.

''We used to talk about the fact that there are no atheists in foxholes,'' he said, recalling his days as an Army chaplain. He once worked in the section of the Pentagon destroyed Tuesday.

Sermons will likely touch on themes of compassion for neighbors, the importance of being right with God when the end comes and assurances that in spite of evil people, God is still in control.

Curtis Baptist Church pastor Mark Harris said the tragedy could not only spark a patriotic awakening, but also a spiritual one.

He said it would be wrong for ministers to give alarmist messages about the end times and fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, although it no doubt is on many people's minds.

''Whether the World Trade Center would have been bombed Tuesday or not, we are one day closer to the coming of Christ,'' the Rev. Harris said.

There are many things congregations should pray for, but they should not forget that there are those in this country who may still be looking to board airplanes and crash them into landmarks, he said.

''Jesus taught us that we've got to know how to pray for our enemies,'' the Rev. Harris said. ''Only God can change a man's heart. We just pray that their hearts will be broken and changed.''

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.