Only local media, across the nation, report the local events -- national coverage is non-existent.
For background on the media blackout of prayer, click headlines below:
God Hears Thousands Praying for America, Media Doesn't
Religious Freedom Rally Ignored by Mainstream Media
Thousands of Christians Pray for Detroit, Media Condemn Prayers
NFL's Tim Tebow's Sermon Draws 26000, Media Ignore
In addition, read Army Supports Day of Prayer, Rejecting Atheists' Complaints and also read National Day of Prayer: Hidden Faith, or Public?
-- From "Americans Unite With 'One Voice' on 'Day of Prayer' While Secularists and Atheists Continue Push for 'Reason'" by Nicola Menzie, Christian Post Reporter 5/1/14
The National Day of Prayer, when people of faith across America, and in a handful of other countries unite to appeal to God's mercy, was organized this year on the theme of "One Voice, United in Prayer," but, as expected, secularists and atheists want no part of the campaign and continue to push for states to recognize a "National Day of Reason."
"When we come to the one to whom we pray and we glorify with one mind and voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we're coming to someone that is not a God we make up, not just a God that we feel suits us and that we're comfortable with, not one that's just revered by our own religion or tradition," explains Anne Graham Lotz, the honorary chair of this year's National Day of Prayer, in a promotional video. "We're coming to the one true living God, the creator of all things, the one who came down in human form so that you and I might see Him and know Him and hear Him."
The National Day of Prayer Task Force, the organizer of the annual nationwide event, states that although its efforts are "executed specifically in accordance with its Judeo-Christian beliefs," the "government-proclaimed day is offered to all Americans, regardless of religion, to celebrate their faith through prayer."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "National Day of Prayer to Encourage a United Voice" posted at CBNNews.com 5/1/14
An estimated 40,000 events nationwide will mark the day, including many at local and national government buildings.
In Washington, D.C., lawmakers will observe the National Day of Prayer on Capitol Hill, where congressmen like Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., are urging Americans to pray for the nation.
"There is still a God in heaven who hears our prayer" and "cares about our lives," Lankford said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "5 facts about prayer" by Michael Lipka, Pew Research Center 5/1/14
1. The National Day of Prayer was enacted in 1952 by the Congress and President Harry S. Truman.
2. The Freedom From Religion Foundation unsuccessfully challenged the National Day of Prayer in court. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2011 that the group, which aims to promote the separation of church and state, did not have the legal standing to challenge the law.
3. For many Americans, every day is a day of prayer. More than half (55%) of Americans said they pray every day, according to a 2013 Pew Research survey, while 23% said they pray weekly or monthly and 21% seldom or never. Even among those who are religiously unaffiliated, 21% said they pray daily.
4. A 2010 USA Today/Gallup poll asked Americans specifically about the National Day of Prayer. A majority (57%) said they favored having the day of prayer, while just 5% said they opposed it. A significant share (38%) said it didn’t matter to them either way.
5. This year’s National Day of Prayer comes as the town of Greece, N.Y., awaits a ruling by the Supreme Court . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Public Prayer: Vast Majority of Americans Want it
From "Upgrading From Prayer to Reason" by Roy Speckhardt, Huffington Post 5/1/14
Politicians asking Americans to pray and turning our daily pledge into kind of a prayer are egregious violations of the First Amendment principle of church-state separation where government is prohibited from actions that establish religion. If "God" and "prayer" don't qualify as "religious" I'm not sure what would.
. . . That's why the National Day of Reason, which takes place the same day, is a better alternative. The National Day of Reason celebrates the application of reason and the positive impact it has had on humanity, whether in developing new technologies or guiding good public policy. Everyone can celebrate reason, as all Americans use reason on a daily basis for decisions of all sizes, from the most tedious daily task to decisions about their career and their future.
. . . And while the National Day of Reason can be agnostic on the efficacy of prayer, I'm more than a little skeptical about benefits of prayer because the evidence shows that prayer just doesn't work.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Prayer to 'Imagined' God Helps Anxiety: Study
From "United through Prayer" by Rep. J. Randy Forbes and Rep. Mike McIntyre (co-chairmen of the Congressional Prayer Caucus) 4/30/14
After the American Revolution . . . Benjamin Franklin urged that the delegates appoint religious leaders to open each session with prayer. Franklin noted in his appeal that, during the war with Britain, they had prayed daily for protection, and yet in a time of peace they had forgotten the need to seek such protection and wisdom.
. . . Over the course of American history, presidential calls to prayer have alone numbered over 130 proclamations. The first presidential call to prayer was issued by George Washington on October 3, 1789. He wrote, “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Make a difference: Pray for our nation" by Rebecca Hagelin, Washington Times 4/30/14
Abraham Lincoln eloquently explained the American sentiment toward prayer:
“We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!”Awesome things happen when we unite to pray. Consider:
• In 1775, the Continental Congress requested that the Colonies pray to God for guidance. Soon afterward, our great country was formed.In his proclamation appointing the day of fasting, Lincoln summarized why it is crucial that we pray for our nation: “It is the duty of all nations as well as men to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”
• In 1863, after the Union Army lost to Confederate forces at the Battle of Bull Run, Lincoln declared a national fast day. He asked all Americans to take part in the time-tested strategy, and it saved the country.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
