National Day of Prayer 2014

The 63rd annual National Day of Prayer was held on May 1, 2014, and was locally observed in front of the Bradford County Courthouse in Towanda, PA. As in the past, prayers were offered for “guidance, protection, and strength,” according to the coordinator Nancy Schrader. She also stated in the April 26 Daily Review that, “The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers [sic] also called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention,” and that “... this annual observance will bring Christians of many persuasions together.”

Fortunately, the Pilgrims’ prayers were answered because only slightly over half of them didn’t starve or freeze to death during that first brutal winter. Only through divine guidance did our Founding Fathers get most of the Constitution right, leaving out some minor items like ruling that slavery is immoral, or that women should be able to vote. Sadly though, because the event will only "bring Christians ... together," if you’re Jewish, Muslim, or a member of any of the dozens of non-Christian faiths, you’ll have to pray somewhere else.

Endless years of prayers have been directed at the problems on the agenda for the 2014 prayer fest, such as, according to Schrader, “broken homes, violence, sexual immorality, and social strife,” and, according to the May 2 Review photo caption, for “politicians, teachers, U.S. soldiers and others” and for “law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel.” But other problems remain and their solutions would not only alleviate worlds of suffering, but also convince many non-believers of the power of prayer. Cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome are among many terrible afflictions caused by genetic disorders. There are also multitudes of adults and children with missing, misshapen, or amputated limbs. As those praying are well aware, the Bible does promise -- multiple times -- that if believers ask, they will receive.

I have a few recommendations for the 2015 National Day of Prayer. Appeals to the creator of the universe should be directed at concrete and verifiable problems, such as the correction of genetic disorders and the restoration of malformed or missing limbs. No one seems to be praying for people with these maladies, and God appears to be oblivious to them, because they are never -- not once, ever, anywhere -- cured. And for the 2015 prayer day, for Christ’s sake, include the Jews and Muslims.

(Link to letter-to-editor)

JLF