Ronnie Floyd

Archive for the 'National Day of Prayer' Category

February 5th, 2018

What a National Day of Prayer Gathering Should Look Like This Year

One of the most often asked questions I receive is: What should a National Day of Prayer gathering or observance look like this year? I have thought a lot about this and I would like to suggest the following for your consideration.

Keep the Local Context in Mind

While some gatherings may be newly created, many have been occurring for a few years or more. Each one is distinct in its own setting. For example, while some may be categorized as a Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, other prayer gatherings on this day may be on the steps of your city hall, within a church, community center, school, business, a house, or other unique setting. Therefore, the local context should be kept in mind because this may dictate the type of prayer gathering it needs to be.

Remember the Vision of the National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer mobilizes unified public prayer for America. As we activate and call upon millions of Americans to create or participate in prayer gatherings for America on this day, it is our heart to come together in unity across generations, ethnicities, and denominations to pray for America. These gatherings for prayer will have moments when people pray out loud for America, as well as moments where people are called upon to pray privately. On this day of prayer, we focus on one thing: Praying for America. Since 1988, it is the law of our land that the first Thursday each May be deemed as the National Day of Prayer… a day when all Americans are asked to pray for their nation.

What a National Day of Prayer Gathering Should Look Like This Year

While I believe you should keep the local context in mind and always remember the vision of the National Day of Prayer, I really believe it is our responsibility to make sure each event has focused times of prayer. While there may be a speaker and singing in these gatherings, let’s always remember, these are gatherings that call upon people to pray in unity for America.

Different gatherings will have different amounts of time for focused prayer. So how do you know how to allocate your time? Thinking of it in percentages rather than minutes can be helpful. Let’s think of it this way:

25% Local Prayer Focus

Set aside 25% of your prayer time in your gathering for a local prayer focus. In this time, you could pray for:

Mayor and the city council
School administrators, teachers, assistants, and the school board
First responders (police, firefighters, and emergency personnel)
Pastors and local churches

25% State and National Prayer Focus

Suggestions for state and national prayer focus:

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, their support team, and state legislators
President, Vice President, and the President’s Cabinet
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate
Members of the Supreme Court and all judicial members
The United States military, its leaders, and veterans

40% Praying for Unity in America, Our 2018 Theme

Ways to pray for unity in America:

Pray for unity in America, “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:13
Pray for unity in the Church of America
Pray for unity in the families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America
Pray for unity among all ethnicities and people in America
Pray that we agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America

10% The 2018 National Prayer

Conclude your gathering with everyone praying The 2018 National Prayer out loud.

As you plan your gathering, please allocate as much time for prayer as possible and consider allocating each prayer focus using these percentages. I believe when this is done across America in each prayer observance or gathering, it will be a dynamic experience to know you are praying in agreement on this day with millions of Americans. Powerful, engaging agreement can occur when each gathering concludes by praying The 2018 National Prayer together out loud.

One final thing. Please send this article to the planning team for your prayer gathering or create a prayer gathering that does this in your town or city. Also, you can watch our 6-minute video on planning your event on the NDP Equipping site. You can find other equipping videos there as well. Share all of these tools with your planning team.

Now is the Time to Lead and to Pray for America,

Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, National Day of Prayer

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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, President of the National Day of Prayer, and founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry.

To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.

Visit our website at http://ronniefloyd.com
Follow Dr. Floyd on Twitter and Instagram @ronniefloyd

Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.

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January 31st, 2018

February 2018 : Three Prayer Priorities for America

America, National Day of Prayer, Prayer

As we enter the month of February of 2018, I am asking you and your ministry to join us in praying for these three prayer priorities for our nation. How awesome it would be if we could mobilize thousands of ministries and churches to unite together in prayer for the United States of America.

Please share these with friends, pastors, churches, denominations, networks, ministries, and Christian media. The more people we have praying together about the same things in our nation, the more we will see God move us forward together.

We will be praying for unity in America for the next several months. We revealed in November that Pray For America: UNITY is our 2018 theme for the National Day of Prayer. We chose this theme because we strongly believe this is God’s heart. Therefore, from now until and even beyond our Thursday, May 3, 2018, National Day of Prayer, we are going to call for, forward, and pray for unity in America.

Please do all you can to forward these major prayer priorities everywhere you go. Now is the time for us to clearly agree to pray in this manner for America:

1. Pray for unity of thought and strategy among our nation’s leadership over these critical issues in America today. #PRAY4UNITY

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

Lord, we ask You alone for wisdom for our leaders, so they will see these issues through Your eyes and lead us to unity from Your perspective.
Funding of the United States government
Immigration reform: DACA reform and border control
Economy and jobs
Infrastructure improvements
Education reform
National security
National defense and the military
Unity of thought and strategy for the good of the nation between the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the White House.

2. Pray that we agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. #PRAY4UNITY

“They all were continually united in prayer.” Acts 1:14

Preceding the epic movement of God on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Jesus’ people were continually united in prayer.
Convict the Church in America to wake up spiritually, agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America to occur in our generation.
Call upon God to bring spiritual awakening now in America, shaping the future of America, just as the Great Spiritual Awakenings in our history have shaped our spiritual heritage as a nation.

3. Pray for God to intervene supernaturally across America as we call upon all Americans to pray for our nation on the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3, 2018.

“Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3

LORD JESUS, use all relationships, social networking, and all forms of media to mobilize millions of people to pray for America on Thursday, May 3.
HOLY SPIRIT, we ask You to move upon and call all generations, all ethnicities, all churches, all denominations, all networks, and all languages to pray for America on May 3.
FATHER IN HEAVEN, may You increase exponentially the number of gatherings for prayer across America.

JESUS, we ask You to call all leaders of denominations, church networks, churches, government, education, business, cities, and all communities in America to create thousands of gatherings that will saturate their regions in prayer for unity in America.
LORD JESUS CHRIST, as the National Day of Prayer Task Force leads in this national effort, please provide for the financial needs that exist as it forwards prayer in America.
HOLY SPIRIT, as Dr. Ronnie Floyd, the President of the National Day of Prayer, provides direction and leadership over this national prayer movement, please give Him Your direction and will in all things.
LORD JESUS, lead Dr. Ronnie Floyd, as he oversees and leads the National Observance of the National Day of Prayer from Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol Building on Thursday, May 3, from 7:30—9:30 p.m. EDT, calling all of America to prayer for America via television and live streaming nationally and internationally. #PRAY4UNITY
FATHER, provide wisdom, grace, and stamina to the staff team of the National Day of Prayer Task Force and all who are working to bring these prayer gatherings together for May 3, 2018.

Thank you for all you are doing to forward prayer in America. Let’s do all we can to mobilize people to pray for America. Remember, our heart in these days is to #PRAY4UNITY, so join us in this national prayer movement. The time is now!