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To the Editor:
The annual National Day of Prayer has been held for over 70 years. The mission of the National Day of Prayer is to mobilize unified public prayer for America. According to the Christian website www.nationaldayofprayer.org the theme for 2023 is “Pray fervently in righteousness and avail much.” The key verse is from James 5:16B “the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May inviting people of all faiths to pray for our nation. It was created in 1952 by joint resolution of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Since its beginning, this day has continually united Americans from all socio-economic, political, and ethnic backgrounds in prayer while also encouraging personal repentance and righteousness in the culture. The National Day of Prayer belongs to all Americans and is a day that transcends differences, bringing together citizens to celebrate our most beloved freedom: the freedom to humbly come before God Almighty and seek His guidance in prayer. The Bible says in the end times there would be great deception so Christians need to pray for discernment. The major media is full of lies and promote their evil agenda. Pastor Geoffrey Grider said the last truth teller in the major media, Tucker Carlson, was fired. Tucker Carlson may have been fired at Fox over a Heritage Foundation speech were he stressed the importance of prayer several times and the evil nature of the forces attacking America, claims Insider. This is the most truthful thing someone in the major media has said that prayer is important and evil demonic forces are attacking America. This truth was too much for the evil demonic major media to handle!
Christians need to use every opportunity such as the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 4, 2023 to cry out with one voice for our nation, for our leaders for revival to sweep our land. Repentance, prayer and revival are needed in America as never before. God calls America to repent from its stubborn unbelief and ignorant self-worship. Christians must cry out to Jesus for revival for our nation and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our churches. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the one essential aspect of all revivals. God wants to do again what he did to start the church in Acts and bring a worldwide outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our end time churches that are in one accord. An outpouring of the Holy Spirit will bring healing, boldness to preach the gospel and win souls as never before. Tell lost people they must first accept that they are a sinner and need Jesus. Second, believe that Jesus died for their sins, was buried and arose. Third, call on or pray that Jesus save them. Salvation is Jesus plus nothing. The name Jesus means salvation.
At one restaurant all the people who ate there got food poisoning except the one Christian family that prayed over their food. There are 1500 medical studies showing a direct positive connection between prayer and church attendance and better health and longer lives. The evidence of the power of prayer to God is so overwhelming it caused the conversion of an atheist to faith in the one and only God, Jesus. Researcher Tom Knox is one example of an atheist who became a Christian after studying medicine and faith. Knox said, “What I discovered astonished me. Over the past 30 years a growing and largely unnoticed body of scientific work shows belief is medically, socially and psychologically beneficial. There’s a seven-year difference in life expectancy between those who never attend church and those who attend weekly,” Knox said. Dr. Harold G. Koenig said, “Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick – and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster.” This proves you can’t outgive God. Any time you spend in prayer or in church, God will give it back many times over. We need it, our families need it, our nation needs it. Spend more time with the One who loves you most – Jesus! Prayer is the most effective thing we can do. As one Christian said, “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our person, but they are helpless against our prayers.” We must pray to be filled by the Holy Spirit so we will know what to pray. One Christian rightly said prayer requires more fervent heart than of tongue. God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we expect them to be answered or as fast as we want them answered. Billy Wayne of Kingsport prayed for his alcoholic and abusive father daily to become a Christian. After 27 years of prayer God answered Billy’s prayers and his father gave up alcohol and became a Christian. One man said he prayed for lighter burdens but God gave him a stronger back. Prayer makes an internal, external and eternal difference. We are in a spiritual war. We must pray for and use the full armor of God. Although we are living in dark evil days marked by moral decline and selfish ambitions the Bible says God is able to do much more than we could ever ask or imagine. Serious challenges call for serious prayer. James 5:16 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James goes on to tell us Elias prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Elias did that by declaring it would not rain based on the Bible in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. Then James says Elias just prayed (seven times) and it rained. So declaring God’s will based on the Bible is praying fervently and earnestly. John Newton said it best in 1779. “Thou art coming to the mightiest King large request with thee bring, for His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much!”

D.D. Nave
Elizabethton