Celebrate the National Day of Prayer Today

How many of us learned a litany of easy-to-remember prayers growing up? Recite with me: “Now I lay me down to sleep . . . Jesus, tender shepherd, hear me, bless thy little lamb tonight . . . Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest …” And that’s to say nothing of the zany soundtrack of prayers-set-to-popular-tunes that many of us learned at summer camp or in Sunday school.

Giving our children tools to pray is important, don’t get me wrong—but our prayer lives must go deeper, even as children but especially as adults. Prayer isn’t just requests and rhymes. If we’re going to change the world, we must refocus our prayer on the One to whom we speak in prayer. We must become prayer warriors.

The future of prayer, the future of us

In the book A Prayer Warrior’s Guide to Spiritual Battle, Kathy Branzell writes:

Imagine for a moment that you—just as you are right now—were given the ability to change the world. Not after seeking counseling for your weaknesses, getting a degree from a well-known seminary, working out and preparing with some strength training, but you, right now. . . . I was once asked why anyone would want to join the Prayer Movement. Have you watched the news or walked through a school yard lately? Have you gone to the movies? Are you aware that we are at war? Have you heard any statistics about the state of families or the church recently? If you work: How is business, your boss, or your stock portfolio? How do you feel about those who represent you in government? Is there really justice in America today, and do our courts make decisions that align with Scripture?. . . Beloved, I ask you this: Why would you not see the need or feel an intense desire to join the Prayer Movement?”

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Every year on the first Thursday of May, ordinary Americans are encouraged to unite and become Prayer Warriors—to awaken to the power of prayer in their everyday lives and to come together as a nation to intervene on behalf of our world.

There’s always room for one more in this movement—but sometimes it helps to have a guide to get started.

Field Guide for Prayer Warriors

Just in time for the National Day of Prayer: a newly revamped resource on prayer from Kirkdale Press!

National Day of Prayer Task Force vice chairman John Bornschein collaborated with other national prayer leaders to assemble A Prayer Warrior’s Guide to Spiritual Battle: On the Front Line. The first edition, published in 2012, offered Christians a robust discussion of what it means to pursue prayer in the context of relationship with God, each other, and the world. It’s a practical, boots-on-the-ground field guide to equipping and mobilizing believers in prayer that helps readers approach big topics like the Holy Spirit as intercessor and the role prayer plays in the church.

And it only gets better in the second edition.

In addition to being newly redesigned in both print and digital formats, the second edition incorporates a plethora of fresh content to round out existing discussions of prayer. Each of the 16 chapters is prefaced by a prayer written for the National Day of Prayer. These prayers are authored by prayer leaders such as Max Lucado, Billy Graham, and Beth Moore. The second edition also has two brand-new chapters on family prayer, with tips, Scripture readings, stories, and how-to guides to help you connect with your children and teens over prayer.

Add a new call to action by Shirley Dobson and an updated list of resources and recommended ministries, and even readers of the first edition will find their prayer lives revitalized by spending time with A Prayer Warrior’s Guide to Spiritual Battle.

Join the Prayer Movement

In celebration of the National Day of Prayer, for the next week, save on A Prayer Warrior’s Guide to Spiritual Battle: On the Front Line—both in digital and when you bundle digital and print copies. This deal is only available by visiting logos.com/prayer-warrior.

Take a moment to encourage others to focus on prayer, too—we’ve created the graphics below to make it easy to share some inspiration on social media.

Click the image below to share on Facebook:

Be strong, prayer warriors!