Go Beyond

Today is the National Day of Prayer — a tradition that predates the founding of the United States of America. In 1775, the Continental Congress issued a proclamation setting aside a day of prayer and asking the colonies to pray for divine wisdom in forming a nation. In 1952, President Harry Truman signed a joint resolution of Congress to establish a National Day of Prayer. In 1988, this law was amended and signed by President Ronald Reagan to officially designate the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. Each year, the President signs a proclamation, inviting all Americans to take part. President Obama signed this year’s proclamation officially recognizing Thursday, May 3, as the 61st Annual National Day of Prayer, calling our nation “ to pray for guidance, grace, and protection for our great Nation as we address the challenges of our time.”

As for me, I am thankful for the National Day of Prayer initiative. Although prayer is a key spiritual discipline in my personal life and I pray every day, I applaud any effort that reminds us that we need divine guidance and wisdom to face the challenges of our day. Throughout our nation today, people will pray personally and corporately, asking God to “shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.” That’s a good thing. I would rather pray for our nation than to not pray. And I am happy to take advantage of this day to form a bond with others in my community to pray for the welfare of our families, our community, and our nation. It’s always good to be reminded that there are many others who care about what is happening around us and who long to see God do a good work among us.

In reflecting on the National Day of Prayer this morning, my thoughts turned to Micah, the eighth century BC prophet who was concerned about what he saw happening in the southern kingdom of Judah. Micah addressed many of the political and national crises of his day. He was deeply burdened about the injustice, corruption, and deception he witnessed in the marketplace and about the compromises he observed in the holy place. He warned of impending judgment on God’s people for their disobedience and at the same time proclaimed messages of hope. Micah 6:8 is my favorite passage from this Old Testament book: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

To walk humbly with God means more than having a modest, lowly, or self-effacing attitude. It also means to be attentive — to pay attention to or to keep our eyes on God as we journey with Him. To walk humbly with God means to live according to His Word rather than our own. It means paying attention to His will rather than following our own desires and to turn our eyes to Him as a child looking to a parent for guidance and correction. It is the kind of walk that makes it possible for us to do justice and to love kindness. I pray that on this National Day of Prayer each of us will take inventory of our own lives and make whatever course corrections are necessary in order to walk humbly with God. Just as in Micah’s day, there is much at stake.