May 5 — Thursday, people across the land will meet in small and large groups, in churches, homes and community buildings to pray.
They will be gathering to pray in repentance, acknowledging God’s blessings on our land, seeking His power and expressing our great need of His blessings on our land. In 1952 Congress established the National Day of Prayer (NDP) as an annual event by a joint resolution of Congress signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, designating the first Thursday of May as the NDP.
In the midst of another divided period of our country, during the civil war, President Lincoln called the nation to join in a National Day of Prayer and Humiliation. He said, “We have grown as a nation in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has grown. But we have forgotten God. We have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that these blessings were produced by some superior power and wisdom of our own.”
E.M. Bounds wrote, “Not to pray is not only to declare there is nothing needed, but to admit your failure to recognize how needy you really are.”
Our nation and world stands on the brink of crisis. The family structure is in disarray. The value of human life and dignity may be at its lowest point. Truth is elusive. Selfsufficiency, indulgence and the rule of pleasure seem to be the norm.
But we dare not dismay. God is on His throne, and prayer still changes things. Prayer can take many forms and styles. The important thing is a sincere and broken spirit for the heart of God.
Your church may have scheduled special times or events for you to be involved. If not, please consider calling a friend, asking them to join with you as a prayer partner and schedule a time to meet and pray at length for repentance and revival in our land. Your small group or Sunday School Class can have a special time of prayer. A prayer guide is available on the website of National Day of Prayer.org.
Nationally known personalities such as Joni Eareckson Tada, Anne Graham Lotz, Ed Young, Ronnie Floyd, Chris Tomlin and many others will be leading us in prayer. This can be an extremely spiritual time as these prayer leaders call out to God. We learn to pray by praying and hearing others pray. Please make the effort to participate in this once-a-year opportunity.
II Chronicles 14:11 “Then Asa called to the Lord his God, and said, ‘Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.’”
Those wishing to watch the National Day of Prayer telecast may on YouTube, Daystar or NRB. The broadcast begins 7 p.m. Thursday.
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