Listen to Your servant’s prayer and his petition, Lord my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant prays before You today, [1 Kings 8:28 (HCSB)]

In 2008, 157,574 fans at the Bristol Motor Speedway participated in the world’s largest audience wave. Successive groups of spectators briefly stood, yelled as they raised their arms and then quickly returned to their seats. The Bristol wave traveled around the stadium in a continuous circuit four times for a distance of two miles. Today, we have an opportunity to participate in a much larger wave: a wave of prayer. The first Thursday of May is designated as the National Day of Prayer. At noon, the same prayer will be simultaneously offered throughout our nation. Unlike an audience wave, there’s no need to be in a stadium or arena. You can pray wherever you happen to be. Can you imagine how many hundreds of thousands could participate in this wave of prayer that will stretch over 2,800 miles across just the continental U.S? Add Hawaii and that wave of prayer would travel about 5,000 miles! Today at noon, please join thousands of others and offer this prayer for our nation.

[2015 National Prayer by Dr. Jack Graham]

 Heavenly Father,

We come to You in the Name that is above every name—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Our hearts cry out to You. Knowing that You are a prayer-answering, faithful God—the One we trust in times like these—we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches, and heal our land.

We repent of our sins and ask for Your grace and power to save us. Hear our cry, oh God, and pour out Your Spirit upon us that we may walk in obedience to Your Word. We are desperate for Your tender mercies. We are broken and humbled before You. Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness.

We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You. Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope. Deliver us from all fears except to fear You, and may we courageously stand in the Truth that sets us free.

We pray with expectant faith and grateful hearts. In Jesus’ name, our Savior. Amen.