National day of prayer

[david parker]

 
Friends, Brothers and Fellow Americans
 
With the National Day of Prayer approaching i would like to encourage each of you to take an active role in this event. I know of no instance where the Christ commanded us to pray, but I have found examples of prayer and the Christ said "when you pray" so it is my belief that He expects us to pray. One of the best prayers for a nation is given by King Solomon as recorded in 1 Kings 8:22-54, note the last part of V 23. He confessed the sins of the nation and asked God to forgive their sins, when confessed. I know most of you think as i do that our Nations is a long way from what our founding Father's envisioned as "One Nation under God". I believe it is found in the scriptures for us to pray always, without ceasing, confessing our sins, giving of thanks, for our enemies, etc.
 
Last year our church did a 24 hour prayer service. It is simple and gives everyone a chance to participate. With work and family it is difficult for one person to give a whole day to prayer but working together it can be accomplished as a group. We started at 6pm, Wednesday evening service and ended on Thursday evening at 6pm with another prayer service. During the 24hr period between services individuals gave 15 or 30 minuites of their time for prayer. The main goal of course is prayer for our nation. I think if possible it is best to have someone come to the church, to be on site for prayer. Individuals signed up for 15 min and others for an hour or more. Regardless the goal is an unbroken prayer chain for the 24 hr period. More than one person can be praying at any given time, couples, family, co-workers on the way to/from work can stop, the opportunites are many. If anyone wants to sign up to pray while at work someone can still be praying at the church. The goal of course is to keep the prayers for our nation going, confessing our sins and asking for God's forgiveness and blessing. Someone needs to be the organizer, take paper or

a poster to make a roster and divide the 24 hr period into 15 minute segments and have people sign-up for the time they would like to pray.
 
Suggestion, if you know you are going to take some of the difficult times, early morning or afternoons, go ahead and fill them first, don't wait. If you are in a larger congregation and have friends in a smaller one ask them to come pray with you, you might even cross denominations. Make a list of specific items to pray for, certain elected officials, family, friends,  pastor, leader, missionaries, spouse or even me if you have an extra minute or two. I strongly encourage a short bible study prior to May 3rd to find and study biblical examples of how others prayed for certain situations/individuals. If you need help or have suggestions let me know.
 
Your Brother in Christ