Articles

Celebrate the 2026 National Day of Prayer!

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 08 May 2026 12:00:01 GMT

Dedicated and Rededicated to Glorifying God

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 01 May 2026 11:59:59 GMT

Generations Standing Firm and Immovable

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:59:59 GMT

Glorify God in the Nations

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.

Psalm 86:9

As we move forward toward this year’s National Day of Prayer, we are reminded of the beautiful promise in Psalm 86:9: “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.” What a powerful vision! Every nation, every tribe, every tongue lifting up the name of the Lord together. This is not just a future hope, it is a present invitation for us to join God in what He is already doing among the nations, and what he is about to do on the National Day of Prayer.

So often, when we think about “the nations,” our minds go across oceans and borders. But the truth is, God has brought the nations to us. In our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities, we are surrounded by people from every corner of the world. This is part of what makes America, America – a gathering place of cultures, languages, and stories from across the globe. The mission field is not far away; it is right in front of us.

I’d like to encourage and invite you to take a step beyond awareness into relationship. Learn about the cultures represented in your community. Listen to their stories. Build genuine friendships. As you do, your prayers will become more intentional, more informed, and more aligned with God’s heart. You won’t just be praying for the nations, you’ll be praying with understanding, and with the very people God has brought you to, and brought to you.

As we look toward the National Day of Prayer, just twenty days away, may we be a people who truly glorify God among the nations, right where He has placed us. Let’s ask Him to open our eyes, soften our hearts, and give us courage to engage. Together, as we seek Him, may we see a glimpse of that promise fulfilled, lives transformed, communities united, and His name glorified among all peoples.

Let's pray...

Lord, You are the God of every nation, every tribe, and every tongue. Open our eyes to see the people You have placed around us and give us hearts that reflect Your love for them. Teach us to pray with understanding, to build meaningful, Christ-centered relationships, and to be faithful witnesses of Your grace and glory. May Your name be glorified in our communities, and may we see people from every nation come to worship You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Rejoicing in hope,

Dion Elmore

Vice President

Glorify God with a Glad Heart that Seeks Him

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.

Psalm 105:1-4 NAS

As we prepare our hearts for The National Day of Prayer just four weeks from now, we begin a time of deeper study and understanding of our 2026 theme, “Glorify God Among the Nations, Seeking Him in Every Generation.” This week we focus on Glorifying and Seeking.

We glorify God as we seek Him and call upon His holy name. Hearts are lifted as we lift up thanks; gratitude glorifies God and gladdens our heart. Gratitude reminds us, and tells others who hear our prayers, of God’s great deeds, His faithfulness and the ways He has revealed Himself to us and answered our previous prayers.

Singing glorifies God, Hearts are enlightened as we seek to praise God for who He is. His unchanging attributes strengthen and comfort us in knowing every day that the God we seek is the same God we knew and prayed to yesterday and will be the same Perfect, Powerful, Prince of Peace, Counselor and Warrior tomorrow and for all eternity. He is worthy of our worship, worthy of all glory, and as our hearts pour out praise they are filled with gladness.

In confession of our sins, our hearts are cleaned out, purified in the power of His forgiveness. Jesus takes away our guilt and fills our hearts with gladness.

We seek God for opportunities to share our testimonies daily. We tell of God’s wonders and share the good news of sending His one and only Son to show us how to live out abundant life in the Father. Jesus came to lay down His life and drink the cup of wrath of God for our sakes; to receive the punishment that we deserve that through Him we can instead receive forgiveness and in faith in Him. Shame is washed away and we live in this glorious abundant everlasting life the moment we begin to follow Him. We must tell neighbors and nations of His glory and good deeds.

As we prepare to come together for the 75^th observance of The National Day of Prayer, we will pray together in churches, communities, campuses, and counties in every state across America. We seek God and pray that He would be glorified in our hearts, homes, neighborhoods and nation. We do not share His glory with any person, past or present, but give thanks for every prayer that has been prayed throughout our 250 years of history for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth, and in America, as it is in heaven. God has carried us through trials and triumphs, wars and wealth, sickness and success answering the fervent prayers of those who faithfully sought Him for over 250 years. In this hope, you can confidently seek Him in whatever you are going through. Bring your pain and your praise, your tears and your thanks, to seek Him, to intercede for your needs and for others with a glad heart knowing new glory stories are only a prayer away.

Would you please join us in prayer right now?

Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, Everlasting Father, the One True Judge, our King of Kings, You alone are worthy of our praise! Our hearts pour out Your praise, Your greatness abounds and your goodness towards us is cause for continuous thanks with hearts filled with gladness from You. You have warned us that in this world we would encounter trouble and trials. Following You is not a trouble-free life, but we can face each day boldly and courageously knowing You have overcome the world! You will never leave of forsake us and so our eyes remained focused on You, our faith grows stronger in the stormy seasons, and Your wisdom guides us through difficult situations and hard decisions. Your victory is our glory story! Every day we can confidently say, “Our God reigns!” We lift our hearts to You and serve You with gladness as we commit to glorify and seek You in all of our days. In Your glorious name we pray, Amen!

Serving Him with gladness,

Kathy Branzell

President

The Condemnation, Crucifixion, and Burial of Jesus 2026

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:00:01 GMT

As we are in the midst of Holy Week, let us join together and meditate on the account of the condemnation, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus.

John 19

The Crown of Thorns

So Pilate then took Jesus and had Him flogged. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple cloak on Him; and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapped Him in the face again and again. And thenPilate came out again and *said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that I find no grounds at all for charges in His case.” Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucifyHim; for I find no grounds for charges in His case!” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God!”

Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” As a result of this, Pilate made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!”

Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement—but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” So they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”

The Crucifixion

So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha.

There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Now beside the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So when Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with Him; but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things took place so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look at Him whom they pierced.” Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, requested of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Thank you for reading John chapter 19 with us. Please continue to pray through this Scripture, thanking Jesus for His sacrifice that is our salvation.

A Generation Seeking Christ

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:00:01 GMT

"And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” "

John 1:17 HCSB

Greetings prayer partner,

In February, our nation celebrated the Collegiate Day of Prayer, a day for students to unite in prayer for their campuses, and for parents, grandparents, and believers of all ages to pray specifically for and with these young people. One gathering included students and young people from around the country to celebrate the day and share about what they are experiencing on their campuses. All of them said the same thing – it’s a mighty move of God.

It can ONLY be God who is stirring a hunger in hearts, who is moving in campuses with no connection to one another, in massive gatherings and tiny dorm room Bible studies.

Of course, many ministries like the Collegiate Day of Prayer have been faithful to follow God’s call to gather for prayer and evangelism, but there is only one name that is being spoken about as the turning point – Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.

These young people testified that they aren’t just having casual faith conversations, they are having encounters with Christ.

When I was in college in the late 2010s, there seemed to be a sense among some of my Christian peers of ‘how worldly can we get, and still get away with it?’ Their choices and activities on nights with no scheduled ministry activities really revealed this perception.

Now, I am hearing students ask a completely different question. Instead of ‘how much of my flesh can I live by?’, they are asking ‘how much holiness and righteousness can I live by?’

Their prayer gatherings are marked by deep humility and repentance. They are surrendering their idols and addictions at the feet of Jesus: substance addictions, screen addictions, and habits of the flesh that bring death to the inner man are being put down and never taken up again, replaced by their faces in God’s Word, their mouths full of the Gospel, and hearts full of the Holy Spirit.

Young people are discovering “the secret place” of prayer, and the power of seeking God daily. They are learning that Christianity isn’t an ‘event’ or weekly attendance, it is a daily lifestyle that shapes every moment of every day, if we surrender fully to Christ and obey His Word.

Students are asking God to bring spiritual elders into their lives to shepherd their souls and to fan their flame. It isn’t for us older believers to imprint our stories, preferences, and ways of doing things onto a young person – it’s about living life together, encouraging one another to keep growing and keep running the race of faith with endurance, giving God our excellence in every season.

We rejoice when we see that God is bringing thousands of students together in rallies for prayer and teaching! We also rejoice when we see God bringing new life to dry bones: prayer groups growing on campuses that previously had no known Gospel-centered group or club!

God is truly doing a mighty work!

Even here in my city of Las Vegas, I am seeing God move in young people. I have recently spoken with two moms in two separate situations, who both told me that their junior-high aged sons have asked if they can start going to church. Both moms were adamant that their households were in no way religious before their children asked these questions. In one case, the family started going to church together last fall, at the request of the son, and they began attending regularly through the winter and spring. Now, on Resurrection Sunday, the mom, son, and daughter are all going to make professions of faith in Christ Jesus and be baptized!

Will you join me in prayer?

Lord, I lift up young people to you today, I pray that you would draw them to yourself, and for those who have already made a profession of faith in Jesus, fan that flame of faith into a fire that will burn in every season to come. May their roots run deep, becoming a transformed generation on their campuses, in their jobs and careers, even as they take the next steps in building careers and families. Give them boldness to proclaim Your Gospel as the source of their hope. Bring spiritual elders into their lives to disciple them, to demonstrate what it looks like to walk in life and godliness everyday, and to encourage them to seek You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Amy Parks

Communications Director

Confession, Cleansing, and Celebration

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

"let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

Hebrews 10:22-23 NAS

Greetings prayer partner,

As we stepped into 2026, we invited you to join us in a “Season of Seeking.” We explained that we seek the Lord every day for His will and purposes but encouraged you to take specific intentional time to seek Him at the beginning of this milestone year of celebrating His love and light guiding and guarding America for 250 years.

We encouraged you in praying and applying Scripture that it would “save yourself a lot of wandering, worry, and wondering by simply seeking Him to set you on a straight path filled with good works He has prepared and answered prayers you have been seeking.” We committed to pray before we planned, seek and submit to Him before we set goals and strategized.

We pray that you have continued to seek God daily for His fruitful plans, wisdom, and direction for His glory. Now as many of you are praying through Lent and we are all approaching Holy week in a few days, we have turned our hearts to prepare by asking the Holy Spirit to search us and if there is anything that is not holy, anything that is not from God, of God or to the glory of God, to please remove it from us. We not only want to be cleansed but also found consecrated with God’s Word abiding in our hearts and all of our heart, soul, mind and strength saturated in our love for God and from God.

Our Jewish friends in preparation for Passover purify their homes and hearts from “Chametz,” anything containing leaven that symbolizes sin during this season. It is a very thorough cleaning process, not just cleaning out cabinets of products such as bread, pasta, cookies, cereals containing wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt, but every crack and crevasse of their homes, clothes, and cars. This is not a sprucing up of their house but a deep, meaningful preparation to remember and celebrate God bringing them out of slavery in Egypt and the passing over of the Jewish homes that night that every first born in Egypt died because of Pharoah’s hard and prideful heart refusing to release the Hebrews to leave and worship God.

As Christians we celebrate Jesus and His sacrifice of paying our sin debt in full; defeating death and the devil that we might believe in Him and have everlasting life with Him. Hebrews 10:14 – 17 reminds us, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," He then says,"AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE."” NAS

Although we are called to do this daily, we invite you again to a deeper, diligent season to prepare our hearts by taking this time to confess our sin and seek God’s forgiveness as we repent from the things that we have allowed to build up in our hearts and homes that do not righteously respond to our Savior’s sacrifice and our sanctification.

Would you please begin this season by joining us in prayer now to ask the Spirit to search us and prepare us to celebrate our risen Savior, as God continues to sanctify us?

Holy Spirit, please search every corner and crevasse of our heart for generational garbage or social souvenirs we have gathered or even treasured, that add or subtract from the Word of God. Purge us of “political correctness” that does not reflect righteousness. Please remove all comforts and preferences we have picked up in our education and experiences that stand against Truth, anything that we set on the throne of our hearts as our relevance and our reputation. Lord, please cleanse us from stored up shame and lift the weight of worry and guilt that belongs in the garbage, not in our lives. Prompt us to forgive as You have forgiven us. We hand You the boxes of unforgiveness we have harbored and mislabeled “protection” instead of rightly seeing it as pride. Help us to let go of useless thoughts and things we hold on to, “in case Your promises aren’t true, and the “just in case” junk we drag around instead of faithfully, fully relying on You. Please forgive us, cleanse us, and fill us with Your glory, for Your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Kathy Branzell

President

Savor the Seasons and the Seconds

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:00:01 GMT

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:… He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 11 NIV

Greetings prayer partner,

As we turn the calendar to the month of March, thoughts of Springwarm our hearts as March brings flowers to some while others are still shoveling snow. I am not a big fan of winter and my thoughts turn to spring right after New Year’s Day, but I have recently been praying for all of the ages in what I call this “now generation,” and pondering the many seasons of life.

I have thought about the seasons where I wished I was older, when I was couldn’t wait to be in the next grade, then eager to be in high school, then to drive, get to college, get a job…but as I get older it seems time has sped up, some days may seem long but the years are short. It is great to dream and look forward to the future and fondly on the memories of yesterday, but I am learning to be careful not to forsake the blessings of today for the dreams of the tomorrow or even a single sorrow of “what could have been”. In Christ, every moment has meaning.

Even though I am not a fan of snow it has great purpose in providing water for plants and people. Winter is an important and necessary part of God’s process to bring life and beauty in the Spring. Pause for a moment and ponder the blessings you have received throughout life and today. Let gratitude fill your heart, even if you have been waiting for God to answer a specific prayer, a deep desire of your heart that has tempted your heart to grow cold or weary in the waiting. Count and recount your blessings.

Every member of our family travels often for work and we have adopted a mindset of, “Live where you are.” This keeps us living in the time zone where we are and not where we were and helps with jet lag but even more importantly, it establishes us to be present in the places where God sends us and to engage with people God has brought us to in this moment so we remain attentive and active in serving God to be faithful to His plans and purpose.

Recently, God has also taught me to not only live “where” you are but also in the “when,” the here and now, so that we might live in the blessings and mission of every moment. We tend to want to hurry up and slow down time throughout life. Every generation tends to want to be in sometime different than the moment or season we are in but Jesus taught us to live each day in the daily bread and blessings God brings. While tomorrow may have “enough troubles of its own, it also has dreams and is a part of the destiny God has prepared for His acceptable time and glory.

We miss out on the fullness of our today when we try to live in tomorrow. You may be able to binge watch an entire season of your favorite show in a day of two, but we cannot live out the seasons of our lives that quickly.

Will you please pray with me now?

Eternal Father, help us to live in the “now,” in this moment saturated with eternal meaning whether we feel it or not. Help us to savor each season for heaven’s activity authored into our days. Remind us that You are the Creator of time and You never waste a moment but have written eternity on our hearts that we would yearn to always be with You. We want to be present in Your presence for Your purpose, to grow us and show us the opportunities to bring You glory. Thank You, Jesus, for life and life more abundant in You. In Your precious name we pray, Amen!

Kathy Branzell

President

Before Celebration Comes Consecration

National Day of Prayer — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:00:01 GMT

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Proverbs 14:34 NKJV

Greetings prayer partner,

In just a few short weeks, our nation will pause for a moment that feels both historic and deeply holy. On Thursday, May 7, 2026, we will observe the 75th Annual National Day of Prayer, in the same season America marks her 250th anniversary. I don’t believe this is coincidence—I believe it is providential. It feels like a sacred invitation from God for His people to humble themselves and return to wholehearted dependence on Him.

As I’ve prayed into this season, one phrase keeps settling in my heart: before celebration must come consecration… before remembrance must come repentance. If we are to celebrate well, we must first allow the Lord to search us. Beneath the division and weariness of our time is a deep spiritual hunger.

In recent days, we’ve seen fresh reminders of what happens when people simply seek God. Just a couple of short weeks ago, at Southeastern University, for more than a dozen days, students gathered, lingered, worshiped, and responded powerfully to the presence of the Lord in beautiful, unplanned ways. It echoed what Pastor Mark Batterson shared on Facebook after a powerful weekend of ministry with Pastor Al Gordon and a team from Saint Church in London: “Our 9 AM service never ended—it just kept going and turned into the 11 AM service. Such a sweet presence of God, altars packed, lives changed.” Moments like these remind us that awakening always begins the same way—God’s people humbling themselves and seeking Him.

So as May 7th approaches, I invite you to join me in this posture of glorifying God and seeking Him. Let this be a season of repentance before remembrance and rededication before celebration. If revival is to come to America, it will begin in the hearts of God’s people—right here, right now, with you and me.

Please bow your heart in humility and pray with me…

Father God, we come humbly as we enter this historic season. You alone are God, and apart from You we have no true liberty, no lasting peace, and no enduring hope. Forgive us where we have drifted, and turn our hearts back to You. Restore in us a love for Your Word and a hunger for Your presence. Bring repentance where it is needed, reconciliation where there is brokenness, and fresh rededication where faith has grown weary.

As our nation approaches its 250th year, remind us that righteousness exalts a nation and that blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. Begin renewal in us, that our lives would glorify You among the nations and reflect Your grace to every generation. In the name of Jesus—our Savior, our Redeemer, and our true source of liberty. Amen.

Dion Elmore

Vice President