National Day of Prayer Live on GOD TV

As people of faith gather across America for this year’s National Day of Prayer, GOD TV’s cameras will be in the nation’s capital to relay one of the main events to viewers across the USA and the globe.

Each year the National Day of Prayer Task Force, organizes some 35,000 prayer gatherings nationwide and once again, its Washington, D.C. event will be televised live by GOD TV at 9am on Thursday May 7 and replayed on Sunday May 10 at 9.30pm. (Eastern)

The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and this year marks its 58th annual observance. The theme put forward for 2009 by the National Day of Prayer Task Force is ‘Prayer – America’s Hope’.

The Task Force’s Chairman, Shirley Dobson and her husband Dr James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family will introduce several high profile speakers, including government and military leaders and Beth Moore, the founder of Living Proof Ministries, who is the National Day of Prayer’s honorary chairman.

GOD TV’s coverage of the three-hour event will include prayers of intercession for America including a prayer of repentance by Dr. Dick Eastman, president of Every Home for Christ and a prayer for the Government by Vonette Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ along with her late husband, Dr. Bill Bright.

The Joint Armed Forces Color Guard and Brass Quintet will play the national anthem and there will be a number of solo performances. Travis Cottrell will lead worship.

“We carry a great burden in our hearts for America,” said GOD TV’s head of Television, Wendy Alec, “and encourage all our viewers to participate in this nationwide prayer initiative as we come into unity across the airwaves and fervently stand in the gap for this nation.”

GOD TV can be accessed on channel 365 of DIRECTV or watched online at www.god.tv/stream. The program will also be made available for video on demand viewing at www.god.tv/god.

Is America Too Far Gone for Prayer?

Just a quick glance at the headlines reveals the grave difficulties our nation is currently facing. Challenging times such as these underscore the importance of turning to God for wisdom and guidance. With that in mind, the 2009 National Day of Prayer (Thursday, May 7) is focused on the hope and power that are available to those who call upon Him in prayer.

From Orlando, Fla., to Chico, Calif., and many places in between, we are seeing evidence of prayers being answered. The crime rate in Orlando was reduced following a 40-day prayer vigil organized by the city police department. And since 2001, teams of prayer warriors have walked the streets of Chico. As a result, the crime rate there has been reduced 25 percent.

However, not everyone embraces the value of encouraging the nation to pray. In 2008, Mrs. Shirley Dobson and others were named in a lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), alleging that the NDP Task Force worked “hand-in- glove” with the government to organize the National Day of Prayer. In reality, the NDP Task Force is a non- profit organization with no government affiliation whatsoever. The lawsuit stems from the FFRF’s determination to silence the voices of Christians in the public square. In response, the Alliance Defense Fund has launched the “Save the National Day of Prayer” campaign.

“Since the days of our Founding Fathers, the government has protected and encouraged public prayer and other expressions of dependence upon God,” said Shirley Dobson. “However, there has been a concerted effort by a small but determined number of people who have tried to prohibit all public references to the Creator, whether it be in the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance, or a simple act of corporate prayer. This is unconscionable for a free society.”

On the National Day of Prayer, citizens will gather at national monuments, military bases, stadiums, nursing homes, schools, town squares, churches and other venues to pray. Events are planned in prisons, state capitols, homeless shelters, and even on airplanes. Participants will pray not only for their local and national leaders, but also for America’s military, media, businesses, education system, churches and families.

“The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for the community of faith to exercise our freedom to join in worship and prayer as guaranteed by the Constitution,” said NDP Task Force Vice Chairman Brian Toon. “More than ever, we must join together in the belief that prayer is America’s hope.”