National Day of Prayer

Dear Friends,

The following selected excerpts are from the National Day of Prayer Task Force website (www.nationaldayofprayer.org):

“The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people to pray for the nation…  Because of the faith of many of our founding fathers, public prayer and national days of prayer have a long-standing and significant history in American tradition… The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of ‘humiliation, fasting, and prayer’ in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual National Day of Prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations. 

The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation as it enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call for us to humbly come before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders and His grace upon us as a people… The National Day of Prayer belongs to all Americans. It is a day that transcends differences, bringing together citizens from all backgrounds. Mrs. Shirley Dobson, NDP chairman emeritus, reminded us: ‘We have lost many of our freedoms in America because we have been asleep. I feel if we do not become involved and support the annual National Day of Prayer, we could end up forfeiting this freedom, too.”

Personally, I have been involved in many National Day or Prayer gatherings, some large and some small.  Just like coming together on Sunday mornings for worship, there is something about knowing that millions of people around the country are gathering at the same time to join our voices in supplication to our Most High God.  This year, I am greatly honored to have been asked to lead our community in prayer for our government and military.

The past few years have been a time of unprecedented upheaval in our nation and it is not over.  We are a divided people here in this country and acceptable middle ground is becoming harder and harder to find.  We have left the path our forefathers set us upon and we are getting more and more lost.  As a believer in Christ as Savior and an adherent to the inspiration and infallibility of God’s Word, most of the things I see in our country right now grieve me greatly.  Movements and messages touted as “progressive” are generally anti-scriptural, anti-moral and anti-God.  All of us who react negatively to this “progressive” agenda are labeled as bigoted, intolerant, ignorant, chauvinistic, intractable, unjust, even crazy.  Why?  Because, as our brother Paul Reed said to me over lunch, “because we believe in a living, eternal God, we believe that He can inspire men to write and maintain, through the centuries, a living, eternal document (the Bible) that is always relevant and true regardless of the day and age in which we read it.”  He is exactly right!  So, we who love Christ and do our best to follow His commands, hold to the Word unapologetically and without compromise regardless of the attacks, those fiery darts of the devil, that are thrown our way.

I hope that you will join me this Thursday at noon, either in person at First Baptist Brunswick or in a spirit of prayer wherever you happen to be.  We do need to pray for our country and all of its various aspects.  However, most of all, we need to pray that this country and its people will repent and return to God and His Word.  That God alone will be lifted high and glorified as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Government cannot save us.  We must lead our country, starting right here, one person at a time, to the only One who can!

Only by Grace,

Pastor Mike