Praying By the Numbers

The 2021 National Day of Prayer has, as its theme, “LORD pour out Your LOVE, LIFE, and LIBERTY.” The theme Scripture verse is 2nd Corinthians 3:17 NKJV, which says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”  

Throughout our nation, people are coming together and joining their hearts together to call out to the Lord.  We certainly need the mercy of God for our nation, and we can cry out for a move of God, that He would, as the theme suggests, pour out those three elements.  We know that a loving God desires to bring people into a saving knowledge of Christ and to give them eternal and abundant life.  And, true liberty - freedom in Christ - poured out in our hearts can transform our lives.  He has set us free and we are free to come together and unite our hearts so that He may be glorified.

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God invites us to come into His presence, to seek His face, and to humbly call out to Him. 1st John 5 can fortify our expectation. In that chapter, we see these words:
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

This is the day set aside to observe a National Day of Prayer, an American institution that was originally set aside in 1952, directing the President of the United States to set aside such a day.  That's according to the National Day of Prayer Task Force website, which says that in 1988, Congress passed and President Reagan signed the authorization for a National Day of Prayer, to be observed the first Thursday in May. 

This is the 70th annual observance of the National Day of Prayer.  The theme is "Lord, Pour Out Your Life, Love, and Liberty."

The Presidential Prayer Team has partnered with the National Day of Prayer to offer opportunities and encouragement to pray on this special day.  Last year, the Team partnered with George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University for a survey on some of the dynamics of the practice of prayer in America; I want to revisit some of that information.

According to a summary on the Prayer Team's website, 45% of adults in America "claims to pray every day." Also, as the summary states, "An additional one out of five (20%) prays at least once a week, but not daily. Almost as many (17%) pray irregularly, with 15% saying they never pray."

The level of involvement and awareness of matters of government and politics is actually stronger for people who pray. The survey found that "Those in the general public who pray regularly are more likely than those who do not to pay “a lot” of attention to news about politics and government. Among people who pray at least once a week, 30% pay a lot of attention to such news compared to just 21% among people who pray less often or never."

Why do people pray? This survey offers some insight. In the general public, people pray because for a number of reasons - here are some of the principal ones:

• 64% of those surveyed say they "believe it is a meaningful way to communicate with God,"
• 57% say "prayer is central to their personal relationship with God,
• and 57% responded that it is one of their ways of worshiping God,
• 55% stated "it helps them to cope with challenging situations," and
• 53% say that "praying gives them reason to hope for a positive resolution to difficult situations."

And, who do people pray for? The survey summary relates, "Respondents in the general public were asked which, if any, of six entities they pray for in a typical week. A majority of adults say they usually pray at least once a week for three of those six: other people they know (75%); the country (61%); and the military (53%)." The other areas are: the President, other governmental officials, and people with whom they disagree.

Almost 4-in-10 of those surveyed said that "God hears and answers all prayers," while only 2-in-10 say that He hears all prayers but will respond according to His will. 

According to this poll, a total of 85% of American adults pray, with almost two-thirds praying at least once a week.  Prayer is not a spectator sport, we have to be in the game, as participants - it's not intended to be casual activity, but consistent in its practice.  James describes the importance of "fervent prayer."

So, we can be challenged to be engaged when we pray, anticipating that God will respond according to His will.  He is not some sort of magic genie who answers everything we ask, no matter how selfish, but He is a loving God who calls us to come before Him with reverence and awe, presenting our requests and confident that He hears. We can be specific with what we present.  And, we can be responsive - giving Him praise for His love, goodness, and faithfulness, and taking action when He directs us.