National Day of Prayer May 7, 2020

If you have been around me for long, you know that I want on my tombstone, "She gave others hope." 1Peter 3:15 says, "Be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks the reason for the hope that is in you." As a Christian, my hope is in Jesus Christ, and as an entrepreneur, I am passionate about H.O.P.E. -- Helping Others Pursue Entrepreneurship. 

One of the founding principles of Productive Environment Institute, the company I founded, is "Together We Are Better." This Thursday, May 7, 2020, has been declared a National Day of Prayer. Political division and Covid 19 are tearing apart our nation.

In Acts 4:27 we can read how God uses evil to facilitate His purpose. I know of no time in my 73 years of life when there was a more crucial reason to pray. 

During the Civil War, when our country was torn apart over the issue of slavery, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer. I have included the actual prayer here, but in all honesty, I think most of us will find it difficult to read, not only because of the unfamiliar use of language but because of the content. This is what it reads: 

I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30TH DAY OF APRIL, 1863, as a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer.

And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessing no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Two years later, after this National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer, our nation was united, slavery was abolished, and Lincoln was assassinated. 

Pastor Carter Colon, of Times Square Church in New York City with his wife, Dr. Teresa Conlon, has created a very compelling 26-min video describing why we should be paying particular attention to God's word at this point in American history. You can find it at www.TimeToPray.org.

My church in Garner, NC, Mount Zion United Methodist, has created a 12-hour prayer vigil. As of this writing, there are still spaces to sign up. Also, at 7:00 pm, there will be a prerecorded prayer service that will include readings, prayers, and music directed toward prayers for our nation and its people. My husband, Alfred Taylor, is giving a prayer for the military and first responders. You can find the details at www.MountZion-UMC.org/upcoming-events. 

On this National Day of Prayer, regardless of how you believe, I invite you to pray whenever and however you prefer. Our nation needs your prayers.