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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: 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!"
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: 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!"
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. 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 PRAYER FOR OUR NATION by Max Lucado--2005 Dear God, 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 This we pray in your holy name. Amen. For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary 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, 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 |
