National Day Of Prayer
Father Weberyy Merilan, who is representing Haitian refugees, says a prayer during a Spanish-language mass focusing on immigrants, exiles and refugees with their children during the four-day 2017 Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, California, Feb. 25, 2017. Reuters

May 4, 2017, marks this year’s National Day of Prayer (NDP), a day when people of all faiths come together to pray. The Continental Congress asked colonists to pray in 1775 when the country was being formed.

In 1952, President Harry Truman made the NDP an annual observance, stating: “In times of national crisis when we are striving to strengthen the foundations of peace...we stand in special need of Divine support.” Since then, the first Thursday in May is observed as the NDP as said in the National Day Of Prayer website.

Read: 20 Scripture Readings About Love, Hope, Faith And More To Observe National Day Of Prayer 2017

The theme for NPD this year is "For Your Great Name's Sake! Hear Us ...Forgive Us ...Heal Us!" which is inspired by Daniel 9:19.

On Thursday, about 2 million people will attend more than 30,000 NDP observances across the country, with commemorations in schools, businesses, churches and homes, reports said.

To find an event nearby, one can log into the NDP website to get details.

This year, the NDP Washington, D.C. Observance will move from a day event to an evening one. You can tune in to the NDP website between 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. EDT, to live stream Anne Graham Lotz, the chairperson of NDP Task Force leading people in unified prayer for the country.

The NDP Task Force was founded in 1979 by Vonette Bright, co-founder of the evangelical Christian organization Campus Crusade for Christ International. Since 1991, Shirley Dobson, whose husband is James Dobson, had been the chairwoman and last year, she passed on the baton to Lotz .

Lotz is the daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and founder of AnGel Ministries. She will deliver the keynote address at Thursday night's event.

Calvary Salt Lake will host a NDP Live Stream & Communion Event, Thursday at 5 a.m. EDT at it has posted in its Facebook page.

In Parkersburg, West Virginia, the NDP gathering will be held at noon Thursday in Bicentennial Park. In Marietta, Georgia, a NDP event will be held in noon on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse.

In Williamstown, Massachusetts, NDP will begin at noon at City Hall. If rains interrupt the event, the venue will shift to the First Presbyterian Church, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel reported.

A countywide NDP observance will be held at 7:30 a.m. EDT in Mansfield's Central Park Gazebo, which will include proclamations by the Mayor of Mansfield, the Richland County Board of Commissioners and the president of the Ohio Senate, Mansfield News Journal reported.

Some other local events scheduled to be held in Mansfield are East Mansfield NDP at 8 a.m. EDT in the Big Lots parking lot. A NDP prayer will be held at 6 p.m. EDT at New Liberty Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. In Ohio, a NPD prayer will be held at Clear Folk Valley at 6 p.m. EDT at the Bellville Bandstand.

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