Thursday is Nat'l Day of Prayer -- Be Involved in Person or Online
by Allie Martin and Bill Fancher
May 2, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Christians across the U.S. are planning to gather on Thursday to observe the 2006 National Day of Prayer. The chairperson for this year's observance says it's time for the nation to humble itself before the God of the Bible. The theme for this year's National Day of Prayer is "America, Honor God." Throughout the nations, Christians will gather at city halls and other public places for lunchtime rallies. Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, is chairperson for NDP. She says the nation's leaders have called for organized days of prayer since the country was founded. (See earlier article)
"It's a day set aside for all Americans to remember their blessings, humble themselves before God, and lift up the issues that we're facing in our country," says Mrs. Dobson. "What could really happen if God ever removed His protective hand from this nation? I just feel like there would be no hope for us. So this is a great opportunity to come to God in prayer and ask Him to continue holding back the darkness that wants to engulf America."
The NDP chairperson explains that prayer has played a vital role in America's history. "George Washington called for a day of prayer; and during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln called for a national day of prayer during those very dark days,; on up to President [Franklin] Roosevelt, who called for a national day of prayer during World War II." In 1988 Congress declared the annual observance would be held on the first Thursday in May.
Christian author and pastor Dr. Henry Blackaby is the honorary chairman for this year's NDP. He will address the national event on Thursday in Washington, DC.
A Virtual Prayer Rally
For those who cannot make it to the national rally or a local gathering on the National Day of Prayer, the Presidential Prayer Team is offering a solution. Prayer Team president John Lind explains.
"Our part of the National Day of Prayer for the Presidential Prayer Team involves an online prayer rally where people can come online to the Presidential Prayer Team website, and they can click to sign up for a block of time during that day that they would dedicate to pray for our country, our leaders and, of course, our president," Lind says.
The Presidential Prayer Team is an ongoing, year-round ministry that focuses on praying for America's president, leaders, and military forces. "We encourage daily prayer, and in order to do that we have a website -- PresidentialPrayerTeam.org -- that we refresh on a regular basis to give folks who want to take on that challenge up-to-the-day, up-to-the-minute resources and specifics to pray intelligently for our nation," says Lind.
Those signing up for the online NDP prayer rally can see how many people in their state are already signed up to be praying on that day. At press time, almost 7,500 people had committed to pray for a certain amount of time on Thursday in conjunction with the nation observance.
Allie Martin and Bill Fancher, regular contributors to AgapePress, are reporters for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
