National and state Southern Baptist leaders call for believers to pray on National Day of Prayer

This Thursday, May 2, is the National Day of Prayer. It was established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1952, and the date was set to the first Thursday in May by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. By law, the president is required to sign a proclamation each year encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.

National and state Southern Baptist leaders are calling for believers to pray, individually or corporately, on that day.

W. Thomas Hammond Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and his wife Kerri are asking for fellow Georgia Baptists to join them in a time of prayer and reflection via an online livestream at 6am, noon, and 730pm on May 2. The livestream will be available at this site: https://gabaptist.org/ndop2024/.

The Hammonds and other state Baptist leaders will intercede for our world through five critical areas of prayer:

1. Pastors & Churches – Upholding our pastors and those they lead. Church planter Rod Blackmon of OneChurch in Atlanta will lead this prayer.
2. Pastors’ Wives and Women Who Serve in Various Ministries – Celebrating and supporting the devoted women in our faith community. Jennifer Byrd, wife of Stephen Byrd, will lead this prayer. Stephen Byrd is pastor of Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins.
3. World Missions and Persecuted Christians – Advancing the gospel and standing with the oppressed. Sang Hun Lee, pastor of Everlove Baptist Church of Atlanta, will lead this prayer.
4. Leadership – Seeking guidance for our President, Congress, Supreme Court, Governor, and the upcoming elections. Justin Gambrell, pastor of First Baptist Church of Blackshear, will lead this prayer.
5. Our Nation – Praying for revival, a return to God, and an evangelistic harvest. Javier Lopez, pastor of the Hispanic ministry at First Baptist Church of Douglasville and vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention, will lead this prayer. 

The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention has created a downloadable prayer guide for believers and churches to pray "for our churches, our Convention, and our country on the National Day of Prayer."