National Day of Prayer

May 3, 2012

By Mary Baker Boudissa

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” —James 5:16 NIV

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed an amended law, originally passed in 1952, designating the first Thursday in May as the annual observance for a National Day of Prayer. Today marks the sixty-first annual observance of this important day on which all Americans are called to pray as one. So, you might ask, what makes May 3, 2012, different than any other day in the United States? The hope is that, on this one day, as we pause to pray and focus our prayer life more acutely on issues that are facing the nation, we will experience a sense of unity with our fellow Americans. The National Day of Prayer is not a mandate or an accusation about a lack of prayer, but it is an opportunity and an acknowledgement of the need for prayer.

What does this day mean to the Church of God? Our movement is no stranger to uniting in prayer. Focus 40 brought churches and individuals from around the world together in prayer for the lost. This National Day of Prayer is simply a reminder and an affirmation of how significant prayer is in fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandments.

Prayer is part of our foundation. In every area of ministry, prayer is a necessary part of equipping, serving, and reaching others for Christ.

According to Ronald V. Duncan, general director, “Within the offices of Church of God Ministries, there is awareness that everything we do must be undergirded by steadfast prayer. More importantly, there is a call on our lives to pray for the lives of others.”

The International Youth Convention (IYC) is about life change. As Ryan Chapman, coordinator of the National Prayer Ministry for the Church of God, summarized it, “Deep life change cannot happen without our prayers.” To this end delegates for the 2012 event have been given an IYC Prayer Guide to help them pray specifically for the convention. Also, during the convention, four full-time intercessors will be on-site, spending their days focused solely on prayer. In addition, each participant is regularly prayed for preceding and during the convention by nearly three hundred intercessors!

CBH incorporates prayer into all of their broadcasts, including live prayer as part of ViewPoint with Jim Lyon and Ed Hall. This was actually the first of our ministries in Anderson to have a twenty-four-hour toll-free prayer line. As John Walters, CBH Director, said, “We want to be able to respond to those who have an urgent need for prayer. When listeners call, a staff member will pray with them.”

The global church is also an important focus of prayer and fasting. According to Debbie Taylor, Living Link specialist for CGM, “God has given us a wonderful opportunity to ‘stand in the gap’ for those serving sacrificially as missionaries overseas.” Global Missions provides missionary prayer cards that serve as a gentle reminder to intercede on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ. In the words of one missionary serving in Ecuador, “I feel so guilty to be the one that actually witnesses the results of the prayers being answered by those who are committed to praying back home…if people could only see the difference their prayers make.” Because of the prayers offered on behalf of the ministries around the globe, lives are changed, hope is renewed, and miracles happen.  

Today, as we consider the meaning of a National Day of Prayer, let us continue to remember what a tremendous need exists in the world today for dedicated intercessors. If we seek to transform culture, we must exercise our faith in the transformative power of prayer.