Americans observed the National Day of Prayer (NDP) by gathering at thousands of locations across the country in what was expected to be the largest such observance in its six-decade history.
The number of events for the May 3 observance was estimated at more than 40,000 events in all 50 states, with more than 300 in Texas alone, according to Religion News Service.
NDP has been observed each year since Congress approved a resolution in 1952 calling on the president to establish it as an annual event.
President Truman inaugurated the observance the same year, and presidents since then have recognized it with proclamations.
In 1988, Congress amended the law to set the first Thursday of May for the observance.
In this year’s NDP proclamation, President Obama invited Americans to join him “in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I call upon individuals of all faiths to pray for guidance, grace and protection for our great Nation as we address the challenges of our time.”
The president urged citizens to “be humble in our convictions, and courageous in our virtue. Let us pray for those who are suffering around the world, and let us be open to opportunities to ease that suffering.”
He also called for Americans to honor the members of the Armed Forces and pray for them and their family members.
The lead observance of the NDP again was held at an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, with NDP Task Force chairman Shirley Dobson and honorary chairman David Jeremiah, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., among the speakers.
This year’s theme, established by the task force, was “One Nation Under God,” which was based on Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
The NDP Task Force is a privately funded group that says the observance is for people of all faiths to participate in but the events it organizes are fulfilled “in accordance with its Judeo-Christian beliefs.”
Obama’s National Day of Prayer proclamation may be accessed online at www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/01/presidential-proclamation-national-day-
prayer-2012.
(BP)
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