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To the Editor:

The 73rd annual National Day of Prayer is Thursday, May 2, 2024. 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 2024 is “Lift up the word and light up the world!” The key verse is from 2 Samuel 22:29-31.

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.

Christians need to use every opportunity such as the National Day of Prayer 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.

There are 1,500 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.”

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. “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. God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we expect them to be answered or as fast as we want them answered.

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.” 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