On Thursday, May 2nd at 12:00 PM you are invited to join us in the chapel to pray for our nation. It will be the 73rd time God’s people in America have paused to pray for the well-being of not only of our nation, but of the world. This year’s theme is LIFT UP THE WORD – LIGHT UP THE WORLD. It is based on 2 Samuel 22:29-31 which says, “You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light. With your help I can run through a barricade; with my God I can scale a wall.”
This National Day of Prayer began in 1952 when a young evangelist by the name of Billy Graham stood on the steps of the Capital and asked the 20,000 people who gathered there that day (February 3) to pray. Later that year a joint resolution of the United States Congress was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman declaring the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer.
So, why pray as a nation or for our nation? Isn’t prayer a personal thing between a person and their God? Not in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Prayer is a community thing. Listen to what the Word of God says about prayer: “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 will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
We are known as “a praying church” by many who visit us in the summer. Whenever we gather for worship, Bible study, Sunday School, or fellowship – we pray. We pray for forgiveness; for healing; for wisdom; for understanding; for guidance; and not only for ourselves, but for others.
Prayer is our spiritual communion with God our Father through His Son in the power of His Spirit. The Apostle Paul tells us to “put on the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:10) and then to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). This we do.
So, join us at noon on Thursday, May 2 in the sanctuary of the chapel to pray for the church of Jesus Christ, the nuclear family, for our schools and the students in them, for the workplace, our military, our government (local, state, and national), and for the arts, the world of entertainment, and for our media. We will have brochures in the bulletins and in the vestibule to guide you. Whether you are with us in the chapel or at your home that day, we encourage you to PRAY.
God is our shield if we abide in Him and His Word abides in us. We can take up our shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17) and run boldly into the darkness of this present world to Lift Up the Word and Light Up the World! Come pray with us.
Shalom