| home

National Day of Prayer

(for the week of April 2 – 8, 2006)

FROM THE NATIONAL PRAYER EMBASSY,

HERE IS TODAY'S PRAYER ALERT: THE

FIRST THURSDAY EACH MAY IS THE

OFFICIAL NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

IN AMERICA. ON MAY 4H THIS YEAR

MANY SPECIAL PRAYER VIGILS AND

RALLIES ARE BEING PLANNED FOR

CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS OUR

NATION. PUB.LIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

WILL GATHER AROUND THEIR

FLAGPOLES FOR 7 A.M. PRAYER.

CITIZENS WILL GATHER AT THEIR

CLOSEST CITY HALLS OR OTHER

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS FOR NOON

HOUR PRAYER. THROUGHOUT THE DAY

AND ESPECIALY IN THE EVENING OF

MAY 4TH MANY COMMUNITIES WILL

HOLD JOINT CHURCH PRAYER

SERVICES. SOME ARE ORGANIZING

PRAYER TOURS USING VEHICLES TO

PASS THE MAIN BUILDINGS

ASSOCIATED WITH THE GOVERNMENT,

MEDIA, ECONOMY AND MILITARY IN

EACH COMMUNITY, USING THEM AS

REMINDERS TO PRAY FOR EACH

SPECIFIC REALM OF CONCERN. LET’S

PRAY ABOUT ALL OF THIS TODAY:

"FATHER GOD, WE THANK YOU FOR

HELPING US TO BRING FORTH ON

THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

THOSE FERVENT AND EFFECTUAL

PRAYERS BASED ON YOUR WORD

AND MULTIPLIED IN UNITY THAT WILL

AVAIL MUCH GOOD FOR OUR NAITON

AND WORLD. WE THANK YOU LORD

FOR GOOD WEATHER LEADING UP TO

AND ON MAY 4TH TO FACILITATE ALL

OF THE OUTDOOR PRAYER MEETINGS

THAT WILL BE HELD. WE THANK YOU

LORD FOR HELPING ALL THOSE

WORKING NOW TO ORGANIZE AND

PROMOTE PRAYER MEETINGS FOR

THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER, IN

JESUS’ NAME, AMEN!" FOR FUTURE

ALERTS, CALL 1-800-828-PRAY OR

WWW.NATLPRAYEMB.ORG

(for the week of April 16 – 22, 2006)

FROM THE NATIONAL PRAYER EMBASSY,

HERE IS TODAY'S PRAYER ALERT: THE

FIRST THURSDAY EACH MAY IS THE

OFFICIAL NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER IN

AMERICA. TRADITIONALLY THE PRAYERS

ON THIS DAY HAVE EMPHASIZED OUR

GOVERNMENT LEADERS AND MILITARY

FORCES, BUT IN RECENT YEARS

PRAYER HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY

DIRECTED TOWARD OUR CHILDREN,

SCHOOLS, FAMILIES AND THE

INFLUENCE OF THE ELECTRONIC

MEDIA, ESPECIALLY TV. THE

AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION,

WHICH FOCUSES ON OPPOSING

EXCESSIVE SEX, VIOLENCE AND

ANTI-CHRISTIAN VALUES IN THE

MEDIA, HAS ORGANIZED FOR THE PAST

15 YEARS A NOONTIME PRAYER RALLY

ON THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

CALLED, "MEET AT CITY HALL."

PEOPLE GATHER AT THEIR LOCAL

CITY HALLS OR OTHER GOVERNMENT

BUILDINGS AND PRAY, EITHER ON

SIDEWALKS ON IN THEIR CARS,

EITHER INDIVIDUALLY OR IN GROUPS,

FROM 12:20 P.M. TO 12:40 P.M., FOR

MORAL REBIRTH IN OUR COUNTRY.

LET’S PRAY: "FATHER GOD, YOUR

WORD DECLARES THAT WHERE SIN

ABOUNDS, GRACE DOES MUCH MORE

ABOUND, SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO

AN EVEN GREATER REVIVAL IN OUR

LAND THAT WILL OVERCOME WHAT

THE DEVIL HAS MEANT FOR EVIL AND

TURN IT FOR GOOD, AND CAUSE THE

KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD TO FILL

ALL THE EARTH LIKE THE WATERS

COVER THE SEA. WE THANK YOU

LORD FOR JESUS’ BLOOD, WHICH

COVERS OUR NATION AND OUR

PLANET NOW, AND GIVES US PEACE

AND TRUTH AND MORAL REBIRTH

AND STRENGTHENING IN OUR

GOVERNMENT LEADERS, OUR

MILITARY FORCES, OUR CHILDREN,

OUR SCHOOLS, OUR FAMILIES AND

MEDIA, IN JESUS’ NAME, AMEN!" FOR

FUTURE ALERTS, CALL 1-800-828-PRAY

OR WWW.NATLPRAYEMB.ORG

For 2006, Shirley Dobson of Focus on the Family and the National

Day of Prayer Task Force are featuring Henry Blackaby as their

keynote speaker at their Washington, D.C. observance of the

National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 4th.

This event is usually held in the 3rd floor caucus room of the

Cannon House of Representatives Office Building on the south

side of the U.S. Capitol.

In addition, a four-day outdoor continuous Bible Read-a-Thon and

Prayer Meeting will be held on the West Steps of the U.S. Capitol,

ending with a joint church prayer rally at 5 P.M. - 8 P.M. on Thurs,

May 4.

Many other related prayer rallies will also be held across America on

that date. For more information: ph. 719-268-4801 www.nationaldayofprayer.org

In recent years Mrs. Dobson and the National Day of Prayer Task

Force have urged that prayers like the following be read out loud together by individuals and groups across our nation at federal,

state, county and city halls, post offices, military bases, public and

private schools, churches, workplaces, etc., at 12 noon on the

National Day of Prayer.

Prayer tours in vehicles have also been organized in recent years

by those observing the National Day of Prayer, for individuals and

groups to read prayers like this one, and from our National Prayer Embassy Prayer Handbook, out loud together, while passing sites

such as those listed above.

PRAYER FOR OUR NATION by Henry Blackaby--2006

Oh Heavenly Father,

You have made Yourself known to us as a nation by Your mighty

works throughout our history. From the beginning, You have been

with us through many wars and conflicts; Your right arm has saved

us. We have been amazingly and graciously blessed.

Today, we confess our sin of not responding to Your right to rule in

our lives and our nation. Too often we have despised and rejected

Your will while imposing our own, and we are now facing the consequences of our disobedience. Draw us back to Yourself that

we may return to Your ways once again. Without You we can do

nothing. You have promised that if we honor You, You will once

again honor this great nation.

That is our fervent prayer. For your honor and glory we pray, Amen.

PRAYER FOR OUR NATION by Max Lucado--2005

Dear God,

Not unto us, but to You, O Lord, goes all the glory.

We depend on You. You give birth and breath and

determine our days. You make every nation and set

every boundary. We exist by your power.

We exist for your glory. Showcase Your power

through this land. Display your justice in our courts,

wisdom in our governments, guidance in our schools

and love in our homes.

Have mercy upon our sins. We have disrespected

your word, disregarded your gifts, discarded your

children. We are sorry. Forgive us, dear Father.

Grant strength to all our leaders. May they serve you

first and honor you most. Remind us of the brevity of

this life and the beauty of the next. Prepare our souls

for the day we meet you in eternity.

This we pray in your holy name. Amen.

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

May 5, 2005 President Commemorates National Day

of Prayer at the White House

The East Room

9:26 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, and welcome to the

White House. Laura and I are honored to join you on

this important occasion.

I want to thank Shirley Dobson, the chairman of the

National Day of Prayer. Thank you for organizing this

event and thank you for your wonderful comments. I'm

glad to see you brought your husband, Jim, with you.

(Laughter.) It's good to have Vonette Bright with us,

welcome. I appreciate my fellow Texan, Max Lucado, for

his wonderful prayer. Thank you very much; welcome.

I'm glad you and Denalyn are with us. Rabbi, thank you

for your reading of the psalm. It's good to have your

family here; welcome. I appreciate Father Charles Pope,

pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church, here in D.C.

Kind of sounded more like a Baptist preacher to me.

(Laughter and applause.)

Laura and I are proud Methodists and we're pleased to

be here with Bishop Peter Weaver, who is the president

of the Council of Methodist Bishops, who will deliver the

closing prayer. Thank you.

It's such an honor to be here with the St. Olaf Choir led

by Anton Armstrong. You've got such beautiful music,

thank you for sharing with us. (Applause.) I'm sure

they're having a prayerful moment right now --

(laughter) - praying that I hurry up and finish because

they have been standing for quite a while. (Laughter.)

The National Day of Prayer is an annual event

established in 1952 by an Act of the United States

Congress. Yet, this day is part of a broader tradition that

reaches back to the beginnings of America. From the

landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, to the launch of

the American Revolution, the men and women who founded

this nation in freedom relied on prayer to protect and

preserve it.

Today, prayer continues to play an important part in the

personal lives of many Americans. Every day, millions of us

turn to the Almighty in reverence and humility. Every day,

our churches and synagogues and mosques and temples

are filled with men and women who pray to our Maker. And

almost every day, I am given a special reminder of this great

generosity of spirit when someone comes up and says, Mr.

President, I'm praying for you.

Prayer has been an important part of American public life,

as well. Many of our forefathers came to these shores

seeking the freedom to worship. The first Continental

Congress began by asking the Almighty for the wisdom

that would enable them to settle things on the best and

surest foundation. And when our Founders provided

that sure foundation in the Declaration of Independence,

they declared it a self-evident truth that our right to

liberty comes from God.

And so we pray as a nation for three main reasons. We

pray to give thanks for our freedom. Freedom is our

birthright because the Creator wrote it into our

common human nature. No government can ever take

a gift from God away. And in our great country, among

the freedoms we celebrate is the freedom to pray as

you wish, or not at all. And when we offer thanks to our

Creator for the gift of freedom, we acknowledge that it

was meant for all men and women, and for all times.

Second, we pray for help in defending the gift of

freedom from those who seek to destroy it. Washington

prayed at Valley Forge. Franklin Roosevelt sent

American troops off to liberate a continent with his

D-Day prayer. Today, we pray for the troops who are

defending our freedom against determined enemies

around the globe. We seek God's blessing for the

families they have left behind, and we commit to

Heaven's care those brave men and women he has

called home.

AUDIENCE: Amen.

THE PRESIDENT: Finally, we pray to acknowledge our

dependence on the Almighty. Prayerful people

understand the limits of human strength. We recognize

that our plans are not always God's plans. Yet, we know

that a God who created us for freedom is not indifferent

to injustice or cruelty or evil. So we ask that our hearts

may be aligned with His, and that we may be given the

strength to do what is right and help those in need. We

who ask for God's help for ourselves, have a particular

obligation to care for the least of our brothers and

sisters within our midst.

During the funeral for Abraham Lincoln, Bishop

Matthew Simpson relayed a story about a minister who

told our 16th President that he hoped the Lord was on

his side. Lincoln wisely replied that he was more

concerned that he was on the side of the Lord,

because the Lord was always on the side of right.

Freedom is a divine gift that carries with it a

tremendous human responsibility. The National Day of

Prayer is a day that we ask that our nation, our leaders

and our people use the freedom we have been given

wisely. And so we pray as Americans have always

prayed: with confidence in God's purpose, with hope

for the future, and with the humility to ask God's help

to do what is right.

Thank you for coming. May God bless. (Applause.)

END 9:32 A.M. EDT