WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held
on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the
nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States
Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a
privately funded organization whose purpose it is to encourage participation on
the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the
need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to
mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America's leaders and its
families. The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national
observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer
and in reverence for the God of the Bible.
Official Policy Statement on Participation of "Non-Judeo-Christian" groups in the National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer Task Force was a creation of the National Prayer Committee for the expressed purpose of organizing and promoting prayer observances conforming to a Judeo-Christian system of values. People with other theological and philosophical views are, of course, free to organize and participate in activities that are consistent with their own beliefs. This diversity is what Congress intended when it designated the Day of Prayer, not that every faith and creed would be homogenized, but that all who sought to pray for this nation would be encouraged to do so in any way deemed appropriate. It is that broad invitation to the American people that led, in our case, to the creation of the Task Force and the Judeo-Christian principles on which it is based.
HISTORY
1775 - The first Continental Congress called for a National
Day of Prayer
1863 - Abraham Lincoln called for such a
day.
1952 - Congress established NDP as an annual event by a joint
resolution, signed into law by President Truman.
1988 - The law was
amended and signed by President Reagan, designating the NDP as the first
Thursday in May.