The National Day of Prayer will be from noon until 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Minden in the church sanctuary.
“Lord, hear our cry,” is the theme of the 2015 National Day of Prayer Task Force.
“This is a community-wide event,” said the Rev. Leland Crawford, pastor of FBC Minden, and invites, “everyone who can and who will to join in this special time of praying for our community, state and nation.
Joining Crawford leading in prayer will be the Rev. Robert Whitaker of Victory Praise and Worship Center, the Rev. Brian Mercer, pastor of First United Methodist Church and the Rev. Jim Crain, pastor of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church.
“The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our heritage,” Shirley Dobson, chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force since 1991 and board member of Focus on the Family, said. “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, President Harry S. Truman signed into law a joint resolution unanimously passed by Congress making the National Day of Prayer an annual observance. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan amended and signed into law that the National Day of Prayer will be observed annually the first Thursday in May.
“We have lost many of our freedoms in America because we have been asleep,” Dobson said. “I feel if we do not become involved and support the annual National Day of Prayer, we could end up forfeiting this freedom too.”
The task force’s mission is “to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families…representing a Judeo-Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reference for the God of the Bible.”
Honorary chairman of the 2015 National Day of Prayer task force is Dr. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and PowerPoint Ministries radio and television broadcast ministry.
In his latest post on the NationalDayofPrayer.org website, Dr. Graham writes, “Our world is in turmoil…unstable…full of pressures and uncertainties. Problems can seem so overwhelming we wonder if there are any answers to the needs, to the troubles, to the tribulations we face. But there is an answer. And that answer can be found in prayer.”
Graham has also written a special prayer for this year’s event, which can be viewed on the website, http://nationaldayofprayer.org/national-prayer/
Crawford also agrees there is concern just how close to home the threat to our freedoms has come in just the last year. He shares an excerpt from an article he recently read about a pastor in Australia who is calling for prayer and fasting for the United States.
Warwick Marsh, who is the Australian coordinator wrote on April 14, “The team behind Australia’s National Day of Prayer and Fasting with other prayer leaders are calling the nations of the world to prayer and fasting for seven days for (the) USA.
“Alison Jessup, from Australia, said, ‘We in Australia believe it is our turn to bless the nation of America and pray for healing for the USA through prayer and fasting according to 2 Chronicles 7:14,’” Marsh continues. “’We in Australia are grateful for the protection that America gave Australia and the nations of the free world during World War II. The 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea, led by the USA, was the turning point in the Second World War for Australia.’”
“We are calling the nations of the world to join in prayer and fasting with our brothers and sisters in Christ in the USA,” said Pastor Matt Prater, of Australia. “Last year, we had people from over 40 nations join with us. This year, we are believing for over 100 nations to join us in prayer and fasting for the USA.”
“While I am saddened at the bankrupt spiritual state of my nation, I am thankful to God that He has laid it on the heart of Christian brothers and sisters around the world to pray for the USA,” Crawford said. “I believe there is hope for us as long as God has laid it on the hearts of others to pray for us. I hope that our own citizens will join with others around the world to pray for this great nation. We need to make no mistake about this – the greatness of our nation is under attack because the God of our nation is under attack. Come join us at noon on May 7, for the National Day of Prayer. May God bless America.”
A light lunch will be served in the reception room after the time of prayer. For more information, call the church office at 377-4434.
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heave, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV