Alliance plans Day of Prayer today at Labyrinth
Everyone in Albany is invited to the First Christian Church Labyrinth at 12:00 noon today, May 3, for a community-wide prayer and worship gathering during the National Day of Prayer (NDP).
The Albany Ministerial Alliance is hosting the lunch-time event, and invites the general public to join in the national intercession for unity for America and her leaders.
Albany Ministerial Alliance president Brad McBee encouraged everyone who is available during the lunch hour to stop by for the outdoor event.
In case of rain, the prayer time will move to the sanctuary of the nearby First Christian Church.
The NDP occurs every year on the first Thursday of May, and millions of people across the United States take part by unifying with others in their communities, from across various denominations and faiths, to pray for the nation.
The theme chosen by the NDP task force for 2019 is “Love One Another,” taken from John 13:34, where Jesus said, “Love one another. Just as I have loved you.”
“Our hope is that we will gather here in Albany to humble ourselves and unify in prevailing prayer for the next great move of God in America,” said McBee. “We can come together in clear agreement that this is our greatest need.”
He added that the United States can become a visible union, standing together in prayer.
“We can pray more than ever before and practice extraordinary prayer for the next great move of God in America that will catapult the message of the Gospel nationally and internationally,” McBee said.
History
Public prayer has been a part of the history of America from the start of the nation. The first Continental Congress called for “a day of publick humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1775.
Congress established the NDP as an annual event in 1952.
From 1789 through 2018 there have been 147 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting, and/or thanksgiving by a President of the United States, and there have been 1,526 state and federal calls for national prayer since 1775, according to the NDP task force.
Like Thanksgiving or Christmas, this day has become a national observance placed on all Hallmark calendars and observed annually across the nation and in Washington, D.C.
Every year, local, state, and federal observances are held from sunrise in Maine to sunset in Hawaii, uniting Americans from all socio-economic, political and ethnic backgrounds in prayer for our nation.
In 2018, it is estimated that over two million people attended more than 30,000 observances – organized by approximately 40,000 volunteers.
At state capitols, county court houses, on the steps of city halls, and in schools, businesses, churches and homes, people stopped their activities and gathered for prayer.
