The Lincoln County Baptist Association will celebrate the National Day of Prayer on Thursday with a gathering on the Lincoln County courthouse steps.

Members of different churches from around the county will gather at noon on the Lincoln County courthouse steps on Thursday, weather permitting. If not, the event will be moved inside the courthouse lobby.

The celebration will host different ministers from churches across the county who will offer seven different prayers, Lincoln County Baptist Association Mission Director Steve Jackson said.

“Seven prayers focused on different segments of society such as, government, military and schools will be given, as well as a special music presentation,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the seven prayers will be based on the National Day of Prayer theme, Wake up America, which was chosen to emphasize the need for individuals — corporately and individually — to return to the God of our fathers in reverence of his holy name.

Isaiah 58:1 was selected as the scripture to accompany the theme. It states, “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.”

According to the National Day of Prayer’s website, “The 65th annual National Day of Prayer will have profound significance for our country. It is an unprecedented opportunity to see the Lord’s healing and renewing power made manifest as we call on citizens to humbly come before His throne.”

“It’s important for different denominations to come together to show our love for God and our concern and desire to make our nation the best it can be,” Jackson said.

“The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation,” the National Day of Prayer’s website states. “It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.”

“Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer,” the website said. “It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo-Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.”