Make every day one of prayer

DULUTH — In 1952 President Harry Truman signed a bill into law making the National Day of Prayer for America an annual event on the first Thursday of May.

The theme for this year was “For Your Great Name’s Sake! Hear Us ... Forgive Us … Heal Us! The theme was taken from Daniel 9:19, which says, “O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God….”

Hopefully, millions of Americans came together to pray for our president, for those who represent us in Congress, for the justices on our Supreme Court as well as our state, and local governmental leaders.

We should also pray our churches will submit to the conditions of revival in II Chronicles 7:14, faithfully proclaim God’s Word as absolute truth, that God’s people will lift up a standard of righteous, and become the salt and light Jesus desires us to be.

In fact, today maybe America needs more than a National Day of Prayer, however great and needed that is. Maybe America needs days of prayer, hearts that are continually shaped and changed by prayer, lives that are loving and bold because of prayer, a nation that comes back to our God with a spirit of prayer, that is continually asking for His grace and healing.

Consider Billy Graham’s prayer for America: “Our Father and Our God, we praise You for Your goodness to our nation, giving us blessings far beyond what we deserve. Yet we know all is not right with America. We deeply need a moral and spiritual renewal to help us meet the many problems we face.

“Convict us of sin. Help us to turn to You in repentance and faith. Set our feet on the path of Your righteousness and peace. We pray today for our nation's leaders. Give them the wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it. You have said, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.’ May this be a new era for America, as we humble ourselves and acknowledge You alone as our Savior and Lord. This we pray in Your holy name, Amen.”

Hopefully, yesterday you found a church or venue where you joined other believers to pray for the soul of our nation. I encourage you to make that practice a habit. Meet with fellow Christians and pray, because a Day of Prayer doesn’t have to happen just once a year.