Americans will gather across the nation to lift up our country in prayer at the 70th observance of the National Day of Prayer Thursday, May 6. This year’s event theme is “Love, Life and Liberty!”

The local observance will be held at 12:00 noon, in the Atchison County Memorial Building in Rock Port, Missouri. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join for a time of sharing, singing and praying. Sack lunches will be provided for all present.

National Day of Prayer is a time when people of all faiths can come together to pray for our nation, to seek His guidance for our leaders and His grace, upon us, as a people.

In 1775, the first call for prayers for our nation, came when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation. Later, President Lincoln proclaimed a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer’’ in 1863. A joint resolution by Congress in 1952, which was signed by President Truman, declared this national day of prayer to be an annual event. In 1988, the National Day of Prayer was permanently set to be the first Thursday in May, and was signed by President Reagan.

Annually, our nation’s president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to take time and pray for our country, its government and all of its people. The National Day of Prayer is important to all of us as a nation, as it causes us to remember our history and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when facing difficulties.

Let’s take time to come together, put aside our differences, and to lift up our prayers, asking God to help us as a people, as a nation, to make our world a better place, filled with love, life, and liberty!

The Bible states in Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We are called to love others (John 15:12),   we are called to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2), and we are called to live in unity (Ephesians 4:3).