JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist pastors and church leaders are being called to conduct a solemn assembly on their county’s courthouse steps on May 7. It is timed with the National Day of Prayer, conducted the first Thursday of May each year.
The call has been issued by Mark Snowden who serves Missouri Baptist as strategist for Prayer for Revival and Spiritual Awakening.
“Followers of Jesus have a tremendous opportunity to pray anytime, but particularly on this special day for spiritual awakening across America, in Missouri, and in each county,” Snowden said.
The National Day of Prayer event is a grassroots organization effort led by 2015 Chairman Jack Graham, pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church, Dallas.
“Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness,” Graham said. “We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You. Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope.”
This year’s theme verse focuses on 1 Kings 8:28. “Listen to Your servant’s prayer and his petition, Lord my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant prays before You today.”
The National Day of Prayer has official status in Missouri. On Feb. 10, Gov. Jay Nixon officially declared May 7 as the 64th observance of a “Day of Prayer in Missouri.”
A noontime prayer service has also been scheduled on the state Capitol steps here. A special speaker, choirs, and other prayer-related events will be included in the event.
“Solemn assemblies have been called down through the years urgently seeking God’s intervention,” Snowden said. “I’d like to see this year’s event being widely promoted and even prayed over in worship services across our state.”
The National Day of Prayer organizers request that churches pray for God to work unhindered in the “Seven Power Centers in America:” family, church, education, business, media, military, and government.
“Seasons of distress and uncertainty and hardship call for faithful, fervent prayer by God’s people and remind us of our responsibility to humble ourselves before Almighty God,” Franklin Graham said. “It is a crucial time for us to individually and collectively seek God’s divine intervention for the challenges facing us. We need to pray not only for our nation, but we need to pray for our leaders, for all those who govern us, that they will turn to God with humble hearts and follow Him.”
Resources to promote the National Day of Prayer are available online: www.nationaldayofprayer.org. A one-page bulletin insert is available at www.mobaptist.org/prayer.