May 1st, 2014
2 Chronicles 7:14
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
What do people do?
“Engage in prayer for our nation, equip and encourage yourself and others to take the challenge to Pray for America, and encounter the power of God through prayer!”
Through the efforts of Christians nationwide, more than 35,000 prayer gatherings will be conducted by about 40,000 volunteers across the United States. Several million people are expected to participate in this call to prayer for the nation.
Public life
National Day of Prayer is not a public holiday. Schools, post offices, stores and other businesses and organizations are open as usual. Public transport services run to their usual schedules and no extra congestion on highways is to be expected. This is a time for us to pray for those not joining us in prayer, for the lost souls of our nation, for those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior! As the coming of Christ rapidly approaches, we seek to bring the lost to Christ, and prepare them for the trials to come!
Background
In 1775 the Continental Congress allocated a time for prayer in forming a new nation. Over the years, there have been calls for a day of prayer, including from President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. On April 17, 1952, President Harry Truman signed a bill proclaiming the National Day of Prayer into law in the United States. President Reagan amended the law in 1988, designating the first Thursday of May each year as the National Day of Prayer.
Significance
The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation as it enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call for us to humbly come before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders and His grace upon us as a people. The unanimous passage of the bill establishing the National Day of Prayer as an annual event, signifies that prayer is as important to our nation today as it was in the beginning.
Like Thanksgiving or Christmas, this day has become a national observance placed on all Hallmark calendars and observed annually across the nation and in Washington, D.C. Every year, local, state, and federal observances were held from sunrise in Maine to sunset in Hawaii, uniting Americans from all socio-economic, political and ethnic backgrounds in prayer for our nation. At state capitols, county court houses, on the steps of city halls, and in schools, businesses, churches and homes, people stopped their activities and gathered for prayer.
Join Us!
If you have given Jesus your heart, and truly worship Him, we want to encourage you to join us in prayer, both at the Church Office at 7:00am on May first, as well as throughout the day that day. Pray for the lost. Pray for the backslidden. Pray for those that have rejected Christ. Pray for our Nation!