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.
Brian Toon
About NDP
- National Day of Prayer
- The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is 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: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.
28 comments:
Dear Brian, Thanks so much for your leadership of the NDP. It has been my prayer since 1992 that our NDP would become a celebrated as Valentines Day. Thanks for your part in helping it to become as common as coke. I pray that as a result of this years efforts that we would see many of these initiatives to become more regular in our communities during the year. I am working on a very small scale to join with a handful of men every Sat. AM at 7:14 AM in honor of 2Chron. 7.14. We pray together over the phone on a conference call set up for about an hour. I would love to see our nation peppered with men's groups like this to as 1Jn. says, "to destroy the works of the devil. It seems only right that since our nation is peppered with terriost groups dedicated to the destruction of our land, that we as believers ought to also be as disciplined and dedicated to raise up a prayer shield to destroy the works of the enemy in these last days. As you think of us we would appreciate your prayers. dave from WV. phone 304.736.249
Hello Brian
God bless you for your leadership, as Mr. Calvert said in his comment, sir! Also, this year is very exciting! The powerful prayer summits, Solemn Assemblies, prayer chains, IHOP meetings, The Call and even the merchandise in the NDP store are 'kicking'!ha!
I know you did well at your Prayer workshop at Iron Sharpens Iron and am contacting Hartford about getting your cd.
Thanks for reaching men and teaching them the importance of prayer.
This plane ain't getting off the ground, if the men in the homes and churches wimp out on their responsibility. This is real discipleship. Am meeting Joe White and his team on April 7 downstate about the July 11-12 Men at the Cross, which is Biblical outreach and discipleship. We can show them there that NDP is 24/7/365 and a lifestyle.
God bless you and your staffs in Colorado Springs.
There is Power in the Blood.Amen
Bernie Lutchman
psalm 27:4
I hope you don't think anyone actually believes the National Day of Prayer is anything other than a government-sanctioned attempt to establish evangelical Christianity as the official state religion of the US.
Not everyone believes what you believe. Get over it.
Anonymous because fake "Christians" like you tend to forget that pride and wrath are sins.
Bless your heart for your commitment to Christ and prayer.
You are right on that we need more men and youth to step up and pray. I recently had a sign up for 24/7 prayer and the ratio was 80% women, and 95% over 40.
The LORD has recently shown me how we have to pray first for the Kingdom of God (spiritual requests), and then all these (physical) will be added. This is another area where there is a significant imbalance, as prayer emphasis tends to be heavily on physical healing, financial blessings, safety, etc.
Keep praying...
The liberal media is at it again. Attacking evangelicals for not being inclusive. This country was founded on Christianity, and it's time we took it back from the jews, muslims, hindus, catholics and the godless secular humanists, liberals and scientists and terrorists.
I say we devote May 1 to praying that God smote them down but good, just like HE did New Orleans.
It is my understanding that the National Day of Prayer
Task Force is a non-partisan group organizing and
promoting prayer observances conforming to a
Judeo-Christian system of values.
I noticed voters guides from the FRC and the Wall
Builders, and wanted to inquire as to whether you
would consider including voters guide from other
judeo-christian sources. Network of Spiritual
Progressives has a voter's guide-it can be found at
www.spiritualprogressives.org/fmd/files/voterguide.pdf
. Sojourners has one at
www.sojo.net/Action/Alerts/VGP_Issues_Guide.pdf. Would
you consider posting these on the National Day of
Prayer website?
I am sure you recognize Judeo-christian does not
necessarily mean politically conservative. The Family
Research Council and the Wall Builders come from a
conservative perspective and seem to be pushing a
partisan political agenda. How about a little balance?
Cordially,
John Wyatt
Downers Grove, IL
[I sent this comment via email as well]
In the words of one of our wise founding fathers, John Adams, the second president of the United States about the White House and its chief resident:
"I pray heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house and all that shall thereafter inhabit. May none but honest and wise men (or women) ever rule under this roof."
Of course, it is well known that John Adams was a devout Unitarian.
As one who shares his faith, I can assure you that I will be praying fervently on May 1 that the people of this nation will make as wise a choice as Adams prayed for this November.
I have become concerned that the National Day of Prayer has become far to nationalistic and militaristic in tone, particularly as we worship a Christ who is the Prince of Peace and who offers to forgive us of our sins. The Old Testament prophets understood the obligations of nations and the penalties for sin and arrogance. In that vein, I would like to propose some additional prayer points for consideration:
-Jesus, forgive our nation for its sins of arrogance and violence
- forgive us, please, for cavalierly using force to bring about our desires
- please forgive us for the many people of all races and faiths that have been killed by our actions, our bullets, and our bombs.
- forgive us for thoughtlessly consuming without care for the impact on this Earth, for being poor stewards of this environment.
- we thank you and are grateful for your blessings upon our nation. Forgive us for not sharing more of our abundance to our impoverished brothers and sisters, here and abroad.
- thank you for the blessing of living in a government where we can freely worship and speak in a prophetic voice. We pray your word be followed wholly, not selectively, and we pray that we may treat our brothers and sisters, Christian and not, with charity and generousity. We recognized you as a God who is neither conservative nor liberal, neither republican nor democratic, but simply God as you are.
amen
a Christian brother
You need to read 2008 Honorary Chairman Ravi Zacharias' Prayer for the Nation. You'll see the prayer points thanking the Lord for abundance, friendship and hope you are desiring in your prayer.
I pray that Americans will renounce their religion addiction on this national day of prayer.
"Addiction"? More like our "Foundation". Almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (24 of 56) held what today would be considered seminary or Bible school degrees. Clearly, for many Founders, religious issues were an important motivation.
Yes, religious issues were such a very important motivation that our founding fathers showed enough sense to keep religion out of government.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
To make the claim that almost half of the signatories held a religious degree glosses over their faith in God (a deist - or non-christian version) and the Vision they held for the new country. A Vision that included tolerance for other religions as well as less persecution. That vision has effectively been dismantled and overthrown by religious addicts. As a result, America now stands 25th in the world in science and math - and no amount of prayer will ever fix that problem.
By the way, thank you for letting me fume and vent. I am simply tired of seeing God used as an excuse for everything that happens in life.
The founders of this nation were fleeing from an oppressive state sponsored religion. Take a look in the mirror at the monster that you have become. Take a moment to consider the rightfully born citizens of this nation who you are discriminating against.
By the way, isn't it reverse discrimination to encourage men to join in prayer in an organization that bans women from leadership roles?
You seem to not understand "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...". Keep your gods out of my government. Go pray in the church of your choice all you want.
People, you have to realize how what you are doing can be considered criminal. You are attempting to establish a holiday that is truly exclusionary. The USA consists of people of may different reality tunnels and that is what makes it great. If you had it your way, everyone would be Christian. That is just awful! Fortunately, there are people of reason who will rise up and not let your plague take hold. Keep your faith to yourself. If you desperately need to believe in some "cosmic bully" then do so without trying to pollute America with it. Thank you Jesus for Myers:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/05/happy_national_day_of_prayer.php#comments
Anonymous, I think the link you wanted to put on is
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/
and readers can just scroll down to the NDP stuff...like they would ever bother.
I think that jimnorth makes a very important comment. Every fundamentalist Christian I have ever met believes that the founding fathers were Christian. Not true! This is very important but often ignored by Christians.
I am embarrassed to admit on this National Day of Prayer that only Christians are allowed to participate officially in the event. Where is in Jesus' teachings is His Way so exclusive? I gather ecumenicalism is not in your vocabulary?
How about a national day of action? What if we all tried to actually do something real to help the troops or improve our communities or help the innocent Iraqi civilians who are dying rather than just thinking about it?
--Susan
As to this:
"half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (24 of 56) held what today would be considered seminary or Bible school degrees"
That's not really a good argument. I mean, they probably all also thought that leaches, cocaine, and tobacco were excellent cures for things like female hysteria and the vapors. And before them, people believed that the sun was carried across the sky by Apollo. We are supposed to progress and learn as a society and be open to advances in science and education.
Plus, you often had to get your education through a religious organization whether you liked it or not, that's where you find all the tithing money and monks with all that free time on their hands to print books and stuff.
Dear Brian - Following is an email I sent to President Bush after 9/11 - I pray you would still consider and find it relevant today.
> Dear President Bush - I am a fifty two year old Republican and never have I
and millions of other citizens respected your leadership more than the day you
called for Prayer after 9/11. To witness yourself and Billy Graham praying for
good to prevail over evil was inspiring and definitely showed in the polls. I
respectfully submit the idea of moving the National Day of Prayer to 9/11 every
year to leave a legacy symbolizing our ultimate triumph over evil and
terrorism. I am all for a strong defense and being as wise as the serpent, but
wish to keep our focus and the message to the world that we are a peaceful
nation under the leadership of God and his sovereign plan to have a loving
relationship with everyone. I feel our Nation would be richly blessed by taking
this initiative and would show the world that our intent is to Love them with
all of our Heart, all of our Soul, all of our Mind and all of our Strength -
There is no Defense for the Truth and no better day to Worship God than on 9/11
!!! Christmas / Easter / Everyday would be awesome as well , but I pray you
will take this recommendation seriously and with humility before our nation and
God !!!! Bless you and all for a 2004 that focuses on serving in God's
Ministry of Salvation for Everlasting Life and Peace !
You are misinformed on the "Separation of Church and State". I encourage you to refer to the following link:
http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=123
geraci,
Yes the Founding Fathers were Christians despite revisionists claiming otherwise. I'd refer you to:
http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=112
I was VERY concerned that Honoray Chairman for the National Day of Prayer would actually pray a prayer NOT in the Name of Jesus at a corporate prayer meeting.....I hope that this was just a rumor and not the truth....Is it?????
Was this done in response to a clear word from God????
I fear this might have opened a door in this nation that might never be shut.....I would like to share this prayer with you for the ongoing prayers that go on for this nation....I hope that it will bless you and us as we stand together asking for the Lord to Bless and restore this land....
Prayer for Mercy and Forgiveness for Our Nation
Dear Lord,
We have been following our own ways and rejecting yours. Please forgive us and have mercy on us. We have shed innocent blood, broken your laws, rebelled against You and Your authority, we have looked to our own ways and made our own convenient gods; we’ve created and believed lies and taught lies to our children. Satan is the father of lies, so, by doing this, we have made Satan our Father.
Please Forgive us, Lord, and HELP US. We cannot fix this or others alone. We cannot seem to stop this attrocious nightmare we have created that now has a life of its own. ONLY YOU can make us a people and a nation wise to acknowledge that Your ways alone are right once again.
Help us and cause us to walk according to your ways so that we would be called just in your eyes. Have mercy on us, Lord, forgive us and send your Holy Spirit to help us walk uprightly once again so that we will accomplish Your purposes and so that YOU will be seen as the ONLY true Good and GREAT God, so that ALL the nations and peoples of the world will worship you alone and walk uprightly before you. Lord, let no man be lost.
Help us to live and love as you would have us.
Please forgive us for calling evil:good and good:evil. For calling darkness;light and light:darkness for calling bitter:sweet and sweet:bitter. Please have mercy, through your Son, and make us a people and a nation that speaks and lives the truth once more. Reveal to us any bitter root judgements we have harbored and help us to allow you to take them out and turn our heaerts and lives sweet once again before YOU. Please forgive us for cursing and rejecting your creation as you made it to be and for rejecting your Word.
Lord, Your ways are perfect. We stand here now, and say, We trust in YOU Lord, with ALL our hearts, We lean not on our own understanding and in all our ways we acknowledge you So YOU will direct our paths. Lord we choose to trust, in YOU alone to perfect all that concerns us.
Help us to live this and not just say it. Thank you Lord for your great and marvelous compassion and for making a way for us to come to You and ask these things, not on based on our own worthiness; but based on the righteousness we have gained through Your son, Jesus who has made our peace with You….Thank You Father, In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
I was VERY concerned that Honoray Chairman for the National Day of Prayer would actually pray a prayer NOT in the Name of Jesus at a corporate prayer meeting.....I hope that this was just a rumor and not the truth....Is it?????
Was this done in response to a clear word from God????
I fear this might have opened a door in this nation that might never be shut.....I would like to share this prayer with you for the ongoing prayers that go on for this nation....I hope that it will bless you and us as we stand together asking for the Lord to Bless and restore this land....
Prayer for Mercy and Forgiveness for Our Nation
Dear Lord,
We have been following our own ways and rejecting yours. Please forgive us and have mercy on us. We have shed innocent blood, broken your laws, rebelled against You and Your authority, we have looked to our own ways and made our own convenient gods; we’ve created and believed lies and taught lies to our children. Satan is the father of lies, so, by doing this, we have made Satan our Father.
Please Forgive us, Lord, and HELP US. We cannot fix this or others alone. We cannot seem to stop this attrocious nightmare we have created that now has a life of its own. ONLY YOU can make us a people and a nation wise to acknowledge that Your ways alone are right once again.
Help us and cause us to walk according to your ways so that we would be called just in your eyes. Have mercy on us, Lord, forgive us and send your Holy Spirit to help us walk uprightly once again so that we will accomplish Your purposes and so that YOU will be seen as the ONLY true Good and GREAT God, so that ALL the nations and peoples of the world will worship you alone and walk uprightly before you. Lord, let no man be lost.
Help us to live and love as you would have us.
Please forgive us for calling evil:good and good:evil. For calling darkness;light and light:darkness for calling bitter:sweet and sweet:bitter. Please have mercy, through your Son, and make us a people and a nation that speaks and lives the truth once more. Reveal to us any bitter root judgements we have harbored and help us to allow you to take them out and turn our heaerts and lives sweet once again before YOU. Please forgive us for cursing and rejecting your creation as you made it to be and for rejecting your Word.
Lord, Your ways are perfect. We stand here now, and say, We trust in YOU Lord, with ALL our hearts, We lean not on our own understanding and in all our ways we acknowledge you So YOU will direct our paths. Lord we choose to trust, in YOU alone to perfect all that concerns us.
Help us to live this and not just say it. Thank you Lord for your great and marvelous compassion and for making a way for us to come to You and ask these things, not on based on our own worthiness; but based on the righteousness we have gained through Your son, Jesus who has made our peace with You….Thank You Father, In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
I am amazed by the fact that so many people got together for prayer; for this nation prosperity, for military and their families, for unity in churches and moral purity in the society.
Several years ago me and my father visited Wilmington, NC and went to see battleship “North Carolina”. It was very exiting for my father as he was serving in Soviet Navy for 5 years, during 50’s. He was looking and recognizing parts of the ship and talking about his ship. There were similarities and his heart was melting, sometimes I was looking at his eyes and one or two tears would drop here and there. My father was a machinist-turbinist, in the heart of the ship he was listening to the captain and executing his commands.
At one point my dad stopped and raised his eyebrows-What is this here? I said: It is Chapel. My dad did know what to say, his memory did not match something like this on the Soviet Navy ships. You telling me this is place where sailors had the worship services, -Yes, this is place where sailors were praying and studying Bible – I assured him looking at the notes on the chapel display.
After my dad looked at the display were sailors lockers, each had Bible and other personal belongings, my dad wrote something in his notebook. I did not want to ask but, latter he told me what he wrote:
” The Navy that has prayer and Bible in its arsenal is indestructible”
I will never forget this words, it something that guides me every day, prayer and Bible. I know I can withstand any problems if I am keeping praying and reading Bible.
It’s been brought to our attention that the host of a small radio program, has been spreading malicious reports about the National Day of Prayer, NDP Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson, and Dr. Ravi Zacharias, our NDP 2008 Honorary Chairman. According to this person, who does not even deserve recognition by name, Dr. Zacharias is “refusing to pray in the name of Jesus Christ in his prayer posted on the official NDP Web site,” and is thus liable to the charge of being “ashamed” of Jesus and “capitulating to unscriptural, interfaith ecumenism.”
There are three things that need to be said in answer to this unfortunate campaign of defamation. In the first place, no one who knows anything about Ravi Zacharias and his fearless defense of the Christian faith could possibly come to the conclusion that he is “ashamed of Jesus Christ.” Dr. Zacharias is one of the most respected, most effective, and most uncompromising Christian apologists in the world today. His love for the Lord is beyond question. His ministry speaks for itself. We can’t possibly add anything to the eloquent testimony of his dedicated service to the Savior.
Second, for those who are aware of the history of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, there can be no doubt about our evangelical perspective. Our Mission Statement and our Vision and Values Statement, as posted on the official NDP Web site (http://www.ndptf.org/about/index.cfm), state that the Task Force represents 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.
Third, it is worth adding that, from a scriptural perspective, there is a great deal more to the idea of “praying in Jesus’ name” than our few critics seem to recognize. In the culture of the Bible, a person’s “name” was regarded as shorthand for everything the person embodied and represented. To make a request or issue a command “in the name of” a particular individual was to speak with the full backing of that individual’s power, authority, virtue, and integrity. “Praying in Jesus’ name,” then, is not a question of tacking on a few particular words at the end of a prayer, as if they constituted some kind of “magic formula.” It’s a matter of heart orientation. To “pray in Jesus’ name” is to profess that we are authorized to come boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) not on the basis of our own merits, but solely because of His righteousness, His goodness, and the efficacy of His sacrifice on the cross. You can be absolutely sure that when Dr. Zacharias prays, he prays on the basis of this confidence alone.
Am I TOTALLY misunderstanding this thing?
When I read the text of Dr. Zacharia's prayer, there was NO mention of the name of Jesus. Of course GOD would know the intentions of his heart BUT why did Dr. Zacharia choose not to say the name of Jesus in the public arena so that the HEART OF THIS NATION could be directed towards Jesus and not some "anonymous God"....
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