National Day of Prayer 2009
May 7, 2009 by Lillie
The National Day of Prayer has been observed on the first Thursday in May since 1952, when it was designated by Congress and signed into law by President Truman. The day is for citizens of all religious and spiritual traditions to come together in prayer for the welfare of our country.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force organizes and encourages Christian prayer events on the Day of Prayer. You will find information about events around the country as well as prayer resources on the site.
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ~ 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
2009 Prayer for Our Nation
by Beth Moore, Honorary Chairman, National Day of Prayer Task Force
Father in Heaven,
We lift our eyes toward Your Throne, where You reign in righteousness.
Your Word assures us that when Your people cry out in sincerity and humility, You will never turn a deaf ear to us.
We call upon You now, seeking Your forgiveness and favor.
Look over this fevered landscape and heal us, Lord.
Drop knees to the floor and raise eyes to the sky, for we know where our help comes from.
Unite these States again in devotion to You, and blur every dividing line.
Do not give us over to our sins. Give us, instead, over to passionate prayer that moves Your heart.
“May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.”
In the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Amen
Prayer for Our Country from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Presidential Prayer Team is holding an online prayer rally for the National Day of Prayer. I spent half an hour in the prayer rally in the wee hours of the morning.
If you are outside the US, you aren’t left out. The Global Day of Prayer is coming up on May 31st.
wow, I had no idea that was today, but I do remember doing that when I was in school, and it really meant a lot to me.
C,
The National Day of Prayer has been observed for 58 years. While we should pray for our nation all the time, this is a good once-a-year reminder for focused prayer.
As of 9:40 AM on May 7, according to 36US119, we are supposed to see a presidential proclamation of the National Day of Prayer. If he signs it, great!
[Political comments removed. LA]
Rich,
The proclamation was signed. I appreciate your thoughts, but I want to keep this post focused on positive prayer so I removed part of your comment. There are many excellent blogs that cover issues of the day, and I leave those topics to them.
Hi Lillie, while prayer is a daily practice for me, I value a day when all can come together across the nation in collective prayer and petition. The scripture in 2 Chronicles is one that I pray so frequently recently as our land truly is in need of healing. Thanks for the reminder to bow our heads today and join others in prayer.
Karen Swim´s last blog post..Life, Death and Dreams
Karen,
Joining together with people across the country praying for our country is powerful. This nation is in need of healing, healing that can come only from God.
I pray for the country in my daily prayers, and I’m also part of the Presidential Prayer Team. We prayed every day for the first 100 days in office of the new president, praying that he would seek and follow God’s wisdom. Once a week, we get a message with prayer points for the week. I’ve been part of this for years.
Both our individual prayers and our collective prayers on a day like today are critical.
Amen.
TKA,
Thank you.
Indeed. But I never knew there’s a Global Day of Prayer. Thanks for bringing that up.
Terry,
I learned about the Global Day of Prayer a year or two ago. You can learn more at http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/
Hi Lillie! I participated in this yesterday – it was great to see so many come together for a common purpose. I learned that Abraham Lincoln actually called for the first national day of prayer and fasting, on April 30, 186-? I wish we had more days like this.
renae´s last blog post..God’s Child
Renae,
Thanks for participating. Our nation needs prayer now as much as it ever did.
I missed the National Day of Prayer. I will join the Global Day of Prayer on the 31st.
Glad to hear you’ll participate in the Global Day of Prayer.
Hi Lillie,
I feel that a national day of prayer is a wonderful idea and I wish that we did that in Australia.
I particularly like the first prayer you mentioned, which really has the mark of a nation coming before god in an attitude of humility.
Thanks for letting us know about the World Prayer day, a day in which I certainly intend to participate.
Andrew´s last blog post..Pehaps Hong Kong’s tycoons don’t always get their way after all
Andrew,
I will post about the Global Day of Prayer. Glad you will participate.
In this critical moment, we all should pray for the almighty lord. Hopefully, he will save us from the adversity, Lillie!
wilson´s last blog post..Eat Less Salted Products, Having a Longer Healthy Lifestyle!
wilson,
Amen!
Thanks for the information about Global Day of Prayer Lillie. I never knew about it. I better should tell my mother about this. She is a religious person but I don’t think she knew about Global Day of Prayer. This would be a great day for the family to unite in prayers with millions of people.
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
rowenalee,
I love this: “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” Thanks for the reminder!
It’s nice to know that more and more people around the world are becoming aware for the Global Day of Prayer. We have special activity on May 31st for that and I hope it would be as successful as last year because it’s so good when all religious and spiritual traditions come together for one common mission.
TP,
I, too, hope the Global Day of Prayer is a huge success.
Global day of prayer is a nice idea to bring everyone on the same platform….
John,
Yes, it’s good for many of us to focus at one time on praying for the problems of the world.
It sounds inspiring but I think Western countries need to emphasize more on their secularities. I’m a devout Christian but a National Day of Prayer even if it includes “all religions” still puts atheists and agnostics in another place.
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Stacey,
I see your point, but I guess it all depends on whether you believe this is a Christian country. And if you go back and really study history and our founding documents, it is clear that the US was founded as a Christian nation that offers freedom of religion for everyone. Atheists and agnostics don’t have to participate in the National Day of Prayer or they can create their own observances. In fact, I believe in many ways, the atheists and agnostics are given preference over Christians in many situations today.
[...] the post on the National Day of Prayer, I mentioned the upcoming Global Day of Prayer on May [...]
I never heard about National prayer day.I became late to know about the day so I missed the national prayer day.I would like to know what are the things to do in prayer day?
Donald,
Here in the US, the National Day of Prayer is a day set aside for people to pray for the welfare of our country and its people and the wisdom of our leaders.
The Global Day of Prayer, which you will also find on this blog, is a day aside for people of the world to pray for a spiritual reawakening around the globe.
Thanks for sharing this Lillie. Here in Auckland Men’s Day of Prayer & Fasting is practiced for one day in every month. Its organized by a group of nation wide ministries comprising Christian men. I wish more people join this noble effort to create global peace and prosperity.
.-= Girish@Car Rental Auckland´s last blog ..Rugby World Cup Car Rentals =-.
Girish,
That’s wonderful that men pray monthly. We need more Christians praying more often.
Living in Australia I’ve learned back 10 years ago about Thanksgiving Day celebrated in USA and now I’ve learned via your site about National Day of Prayer.
I’m admiring the spirituality and recognition of prayer in American society. May God bless America but also all nations too!
Michael,
Prayer and faith have been important in our country since its founding. I’m afraid that is changing, though. Prayer can no longer be said in school and many public events because it might offend someone who isn’t a believer.
May God bless all countries where people follow Him.
What do you pray for? I pray for cures to cancer and other illnesses, peace of course, health care for all, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and of course for good health and fortune. But one thing do do when you pray is to give thanks for the many blessing we already have.
Pat,
I pray the two prayers in the post. At church, we pray the Litany. I pray that the nation returns to righteousness. I pray for the salvation of the souls of the people.
Your post just emphasized the famous sentence, “prayer brings victory” There should be national days observed like this in each and every country irrespective of the religion for mankind to cherish and stay amicable to each other.
Michael,
There is a Global Day of Prayer, but it would be wonderful if every country also had its own national day of prayer.