Jack Graham, Megachurch Pastor and Former SBC President, Set to Lead Nation in Prayer on May 7

By Nicola Menzie, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church and former two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is preparing to lead the nation in prayer on May 7 in Washington, D.C. as honorary chair of the 64th annual National Day of Prayer.

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, has been selected as honorary chairman of the 2015 National Day of Prayer taking place May 7, 2015, in Washington, D.C. | (Photo: Prestonwood Baptist Church)

The theme of this year's National Day of Prayer is "Lord, Hear Our Cry," taken from King Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple he had built in 1 Kings 8:28.

The prayer Graham wrote, to be read simultaneously around the nation at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 7 is below:

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.

Graham was selected back in October as honorary chair of the 2015 National Day of Prayer by the annual event's longtime task force leader Shirley Dobson. They yearly day of prayer was first introduced in 1952.

Shirley Dobson, chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force since 1991, stands with pastor Jack Graham. Dobson named Graham the honorary chairman of the 64th annual National Day of Prayer taking place May 7, 2015, in Washington, D.C. | (Photo: National Day of Prayer Task Force)

Dobson said in a statement shared Wednesday with The Christian Post, "I'm so pleased to have pastor Jack Graham serving with me as our 2015 honorary chairman. And together, we are calling our great nation to repentance and prayer."

"We would like to invite all Christians to cry out together with us on May 7, asking God to bring us spiritual awakening in America," she added.

Graham, whose multi-campus church is home to more than 40,000 people, stated back in October that he was 'grateful and humbled to lead the country in prayer 'for such a time as this.'"

"More than anything, in this desperate hour, may our hearts cry out to God for the healing of our nation's spiritual brokenness," Graham added. "May Jesus be exalted and may God's people be awakened to a new obedience to fulfill the Great Commission."