April 28, 2008

National Day of Prayer Task Force Official Prayer

From John 14:13-14, and Colossians 3:17, to Peter's preaching in Acts 2; the Bible makes it clear that prayer is approaching God through his Son Jesus Christ. This very basic aspect of Christian theology has apparently been forgotten by the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

It's this task force, headed by Chairwoman Shirley Dobson, that named Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias as the 2008 Honorary Chairman for the National Day of Prayer. He was commissioned to write a prayer for this day. The text is as follows:

"Holy Father, in a world where so many are hungry,
You have given us food in abundance;

"In a world where so many are hurting,
You offer to bind up our wounds;

"In a world where so many are lonely,
You offer friendship to every heart;

"In a world longing for peace,
You offer hope.

"Yet, we are so stubborn and resistant.
Have mercy upon us, Lord.

"Our nation is at a crossroads this year;
we look to you to be our strength and shield.

"Please give us the guidance to elect one who will honor you
and to respond to the wisdom from above
so that our hope may be renewed and our blessings be treasured.

In God's holy name."

The National Day of Prayer Task Force offices admitted to Crosstalk's producer that Jesus' name was omitted because it was a "Jewish/Christian event", and they didn't want to offend the Jewish participants. Host Vic Eliason noted that in Israel, the name of Jesus is widely used in relation to the Christian holy sites and that Jews would hardly expect Christians not to mention Christ's name in their prayers. The Zacharias ministry blamed the omission of Christ's name on the Task Force's guidelines that did not allow the name of Jesus.