By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League
April 23, 2014
“So that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:6
“One Voice United in Prayer” is the theme of the 63rd annual National Day of Prayer, set for Thursday, May 1, and expected to draw hundreds of thousands of Americans to more than 40,000 gatherings across the nation.
The National Observance in Washington, D.C., will be broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon on the National Day of Prayer website, with speakers to include honorary chairman Anne Graham Lotz, Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, North Carolina Congressman Mike McIntyre and many more.
Many local observances across the nation will kick off at noon Eastern Standard Time and include the Prayer for the Nation, written by Lotz and available on the NDP website.
People can also use their phones to join a 10 p.m. National Prayer Call by dialing 712-432-0075 and entering the PIN: 4961322.
“Whether Christians go to their Town Halls and churches for organized events, log on to the Internet, dial in or simply fall to their knees by the bedside, what’s important is that we unite our hearts in repentance before a Holy God that has had His hand on this nation since the beginning,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. “We urge everyone to plan now for an hour of prayer next Thursday.
Setting aside a day for prayer is a longstanding tradition in the United States. The first Continental Congress called for such a day in 1775; a proclamation that was echoed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. In 1952 the United States Congress passed a National Day of Prayer resolution that was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Some three and a half decades later, President Ronald Reagan signed an amendment to the law, setting the day as the first Thursday of May. The goal of the resolution was to prompt people of all faiths to pray for the nation. The privately-funded NDP Task Force offers a Judeo Christian expression of the national event based on its understanding that the United States was birthed in prayer and in reverence to the God of the Bible.
“We have lost many of our freedoms in America because we have been asleep,” said Shirley Dobson, NDP chairman. “I feel if we do not become involved and support the annual National Day of Prayer, we could end up forfeiting this freedom too.”
For more information about National Day of Prayer, click here
For a copy of Gov. Pat McCrory’s National Day of Prayer proclamation for North Carolina, click here.
