Vision and Faith

In my last blog, someone asked what the theme is and my vision for the National Day of Prayer.

Our theme is "Prayer! America's Strength and Shield" with the supporting scripture Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trust in Him, and I am helped." It is a very positive message of God's great promise of protection over our lives as believers. The theme artwork is decididly masculine this year to draw more men into intercessory prayer for our nation and it's leaders. Not just Government leaders and their families but teachers, pastors, military, media, family and business leaders and their families as well. Women have been great prayer warriors for our nation but more men need to step up to the challenge as well. My long term vision for the National Day of Prayer is that more men and youth become involved, that people glorify God and praise Him throughout their day in regular conversation with Him, not just bombarding Him with a shopping list of requests but in thanking Him for the parking spot He just gave you, the ability to use your body/mind in ways that others may not and for the opportunity to live in America - a country that despite our problems is filled with God's blessings. We have a long way to go to get that word out to many more millions who aren't familar with the National Day of Prayer or think that all we are about is praying on just one day in May for our nation. We pray for our nation - for those who we agree with and for those who we don't. We ask that they see God's great gifts are for all who come to Him and seek to do His will. Together with our thousands of coordinators in every state, our financial supporters and fellow mininstries in alliance with us, we will grow National Day of Prayer to be as common in everyone's thoughts as Coke or Pepsi have become.

I’m working to have the faith of the centurion in Matthew 8 who came to Jesus asking Him to heal his paralyzed servant. You might recall that the centurion was a man under authority, with soldiers under him. He said “I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Do you remember how Jesus replied to him. The Bible says he was astonished. Jesus was astonished! Where else does it say that? Jesus then said to his disciples: "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” And then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

America Needs Your Prayers

Even in this age of unprecedented prosperity, America needs your prayers more than ever. Here’s some alarming facts about the U.S. taken from a CBN article[1]:

• Homicide and incarceration highest of any industrialized nation. Ten times that of Japan, Sweden, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
• Crime increased by 371% since 1960, with Juvenile Crime up 920% since 1985, the highest in the world.
• Divorce quadrupled in the last 30 years, making the U.S. the world leader.
• Teenage pregnancies also quadrupled in the last 30 years (more than a million a year) making the US the Western World leader.
• Voluntary abortion leader in the world.
• Illegal drug use leader of the world.
• Illiteracy world leader, with National Educational Standards among the lowest in the world.
• Teen suicides more than doubled in the last 30 years.
  
  In response, the National Day of Prayer Task Force seeks to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to Intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Church, Education, Family, Government, Military, Business and Media. The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a privately funded organization designed to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. We represent a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible. We are not the National Prayer Breakfast; an inter-faith prayer observance.
  This year our theme is Prayer! America’s strength and shield. Our thousands of volunteer coordinators around the country are busy setting up May 1st National Day of Prayer events in their local communities. Some 2008 Events include:
  • Eureka Springs, AR – a resort town is hosting a week long NDP celebration this April to help reverse the effects that the alternate lifestyle artist community has brought.
  • PrayerFlight, the group of private pilots who flew in formation in prayer over Ohio during Good Friday & the National Day of Prayer in 2007, is organizing “50 Capitals” – private pilots flying over and covering all 50 state capitals in prayer on May 1st.
  • 300 mile train ride praying from Anchorage to Fairbanks, AK on May 1st.
  
  In addition, during this important election year we are encouraging American to pray and vote. We’re not taking sides; merely asking Americans to seek God’s will and then get out and vote. We’re calling this initiative: Pray for Election Day. We feel that there has never been a more important time to pray for our nation's leaders. With the current threat to our religious liberties and critical concerns in intense debate, the results of the upcoming elections will play a crucial role in shaping the future of our nation. God often uses his people to work his will. We need to pray for God’s guidance, that his will be done and that our leaders would honor and model righteousness in their words and actions. Prayer can change hearts and prayer can change minds! As we pray for good leadership, we must then be willing to get out to the polls and follow through by voting. As Christians living in a democracy, it is not only our civic duty to vote, but also our Christian duty, as the citizen leaders of our country. It is our responsibility to ensure that our country founded on Christian principles continues to uphold those principles. We at National Day of Prayer encourage all Americans to pray for Godly wisdom for leaders and vote in all primaries, state and local elections as well as the November 4th Presidential election.
  
  Have you seen the Pray for Election Day “Red” video? Have you seen our new 7x7 Prayer page on our website with specific prayer needs for the 7 centers of power? Check out http://www.nationaldayofprayer.com/.

[1] Statistics taken from Scott Ross, The 700 Club, as printed on CBN.com February 2007