12-hour community prayer event set for Thursday (May 5)

A 12-hour community prayer event is planned on Thursday, May 5, around the Whitley County Courthouse in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer.

In observance of this historical day, there will be prayer stations set up around the courthouse from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. to encourage all to stop and pray for our nation.

“The theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer is ‘Exalt the Lord who has established us’ (Colossians 2:6-7). Please join in lifting our nation in this crucial season,” organizers wrote in a release.

The origins for the National Day of Prayer go all the way back to the American Revolution.

When he was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, George Washington acknowledged a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer” which had been proclaimed by the Continental Congress, to be observed on May 6, 1779.

On Oct. 3, 1789, Washington, as the country’s first president, called for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving to be observed on Nov. 26.

President Harry S. Truman signed a joint resolution from Congress proclaiming a National Day of Prayer be observed on July 4, 1952.

President Ronald Reagan moved the observance to the first Thursday of May where it has remained ever since.