Thursday, May 2 is the National Day of Prayer — a day where the nation comes together, regardless of political ties, and prays for U.S. leaders and their families.
This year, Jim Bolthouse, the president of the Presidential Prayer Team, is urging Americans across the country to band together to pray.
Bolthouse, who has been with the Presidential Prayer Team since its founding in 2001, told Faithwire that the urgency is real because of the progressive removal of God and faith from state and federal governments.
“From the removal of ‘In God We Trust’ to swearing to tell the truth ‘so help you God,’ we cannot allow the dismissal of God’s involvement from our government,” Bolthouse said.
“We must pray that our president and leadership accomplish the will of God in our country,” he said. “The National Day of Prayer provides an important opportunity for Americans to unite in prayer for our leaders, our country and ourselves.”
The history behind the National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer, which is observed on the first Thursday of May every year, was created in 1952 when President Harry S. Truman signed into law a joint resolution from the United States Congress making the day a national observance.
Bolthouse explained that the Presidential Prayer Team was not formed until 2001, following the devastating 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“At the time, I led a web-based internet company and was contacted about developing a web page for the Presidential Prayer Team after the tragedy,” Bolthouse explained. “This led to a strong relationship with the organization.”
Eventually, he became the president of the organization in 2010, and has helped it grow into “the country’s largest, full-time nonpartisan prayer ministry that it is today.”
What exactly does the Presidential Prayer Team do?
Since its formation in 2001, the Presidential Prayer Team has stuck to their mission of “encouraging and inspiring people to pray for the president and leadership of the United States of America,” Bolthouse said.
They promote and encourage prayer while utilizing various tools like email, internet, phones, print, and even radio,” he explained. “These means allow them to educate American’s on a day that they feel is extremely important to society.”
Bolthouse has enjoyed his time as president of the prayer team, as it has allowed him to encourage members from all over the country to not just pray on one day, but every day.
As president of the team, he works to develop new products and methods to help the members of the organization “expand and deepen their prayer lives.”
“We’ve created tools like our free Daily Prayer Briefing, which is available to anyone who wants to receive e-mail updates on how best to pray for the president, the nation’s leaders and our country amid current events,” he explained.
Not only has the organization created a daily prayer briefing, but they also have resources for churches, radio stations and various ministries so that they too can “support the prayer lives of their congregations, listeners, and supporters.”
The importance of praying for our nation and its leaders
The Presidential Prayer Team works to educate American’s on why prayer is so important in all aspects of life. It’s easy to only pray about our personal problems or triumphs while forgetting to pray over the place where we reside, but this type of prayer is crucial.
“We believe that Almighty God rules over the affairs of men and moves in response to the prayers of His people,” the group’s website explains. “So, with unflinching devotion, members of the Presidential Prayer Team are working every day to raise the shield of prayer over our president and national leaders.”
Bolthouse also shared the importance that the Bible places on praying for people in authority.
“In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul told Timothy to make this a priority so that we can live peacefully together. Normally, intercession focuses on praying for someone else as the goal,” Bolthouse explained. “I look at it as an opportunity for us to get closer to God to find out what He wants us to do.”
“After all, He is the one with all the power,” he added. “God wants us to align with Him and be part of His winning team.”
Where you can begin
This year on The National Day of Prayer, the Presidential Prayer Team is hosting the largest online prayer event in the nation’s history.
Bolthouse explained that “the event allows Americans to unite online and pray together for the leadership of our country from any location,” making it a great resource for all Americans.
You can register to pray at http://www.Pray.Team/NDOP, where thousands of people have already joined and registered, sharing their common commitment to pray.
Prayer is an important part of the Christian walk. It brings us closer to God, which is crucial because, as Bolthouse noted, “He is the one with all the power.” Join Faithwire and fellow Americans across the country this Thursday in praying for the peace, prosperity and protection of our nation.