National Day of Prayer . . . Or Not?

Full disclosure time. When I served as the pastor of a church in Virginia, I lived in a county where there was a military facility. During my 5 year tenure, I was asked to speak at the National Day of Prayer event on base one year. I accepted the invitation then without question.

I think prayer is an integral part of the Christian's spiritual life. I think praying for my country and its elected leadership - at all levels of government - is a good thing. I also think one should pray for all people and for all governments. I think it would be good to pray for all humans to experience peace and justice. All of this can be done, though, without a formally mandated "Day of Prayer."

The way that the National Day of Prayer is done raises some questions for me now.

First, what is the background agenda of the group that is the prime mover for this event. For those who are not aware, the group known as "The Family" is the one who began and continues to sponsor this day. "The Family" is the group that has the now infamous house in DC where several elected officials live and receive guidance, including some who have admitted to adulterous affairs. This is the group who backs certain international governmental officials, regardless of what unethical things they do. Jeff Sharlet has written the definitive book on this organization. Do these many other dabblings color their intent to sponsor this day? Probably.

Second, I wonder why this event is a Christian only event. If we want to invoke divine blessings on our people, should we - can we - say that only Christians can pray? What statement is this stance making? Can we who live in a pluralistic society have a governmentally sanctioned day of prayer that excludes everyone else? Prabably not.

What is the solution? The easy thing, in my mind, is to cancel the event as currently structured. I know, however, that the political fallout for such a decision would be huge.

What do you think should be done?