“Maydays” for American Renewal

The month of May includes two spiritual “maydays” for calling out to God for revival in our land.

On May 7, The National Day of Prayer celebrates seventy years of annual gatherings. The NDP is the biggest prayer day in the USA each year with scores of thousands of prayer events and united intercession across our nation.

“Rededicate 250” on May 17 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come together as a nation, renew our cultural foundations, and re-establish “covenant” with God.

Will you participate from home or in Washington, D.C. during these vital “holy days?”

“Maydays” for National Renewal

I served the National Day of Prayer in Washington, D.C. for 36 years. It was always a highlight because prayer is the greatest things we can do for our country and the NDP is the largest expression of it.

Kathy Branzell, the National Task Force coordinator, describes the National Day of Prayer 2026:

Every year we pray and seek the Lord for the National Day of Prayer theme that will guide our year and unite the tens of thousands of prayer gatherings we host from coast to coast. This year on May 7, 2026, we will unite and pray as our new 2026 theme calls us to, “Glorify God Among the Nations, Seeking Him in All Generations.”

Last year our theme was inspired by a prayer that the apostle Paul prayed over the believers in Rome.

In 2026, our theme is inspired by a passionate prayer of Thanksgiving, prayed by King David in 1 Chronicles 16 after bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. This chapter records Israel celebrating the return of the Ark after being separated for 70 years earlier. While God was always watching over Israel and just a prayer away from them and King David, the Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God having been constructed at the command of God and carried by the Levites with Moses as they wandered and waited to enter the Promised Land and eventually stolen from the tabernacle in Shiloh at their defeat in the battle in Ebenezer. I’ll pause here in its history for now. Thankfully, we have an entire year to unpack 365 days or more of all the prayers and prompts we can glean from this theme.

We are excited and delighted to share the 2026 National Day of Prayer theme with you, and ask that you commit to pray with us each week as God blesses us as we seek Him in Scripture and fervent prayer and glorifying Him through the 2026 National Day of Prayer theme that prompts us to, “Glorify God Among the Nations, Seeking Him in All Generations.”

Don’t miss joining the chorus of scores of millions on May 7 petitioning the God of heaven to “forgive our sins and heal our land.”

Then only ten days later, on Sunday May 17, there is a once-in-a generation gathering to rededicate America to God.

Faith & Freedom reports:

Political heads, faith leaders, and media voices are set to speak during the nation’s gathering of prayer and worship at the National Mall in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The celebration, “Rededicate 250,” presented by Freedom 250, begins the morning of Sunday, May 17, with a fellowship in front of the U.S. Capitol and ends with an evening of music and Christian testimony on the Capitol’s 12th Street, according to a Wednesday statement.

The “Rededicate 250” website ask all Americans to:

Join with neighbors and friends from every state in the Union in giving thanks and praise to God for 250 years of His Providence for the United States, in praying that God Bless and Protect America for the next 250 years, and in solemnly rededicating our country as One Nation under God. In speech, song, and storytelling, we will bear witness to the extraordinary story of how God has powerfully and wondrously shaped the United States of America—remembering the people, sacrifices, and defining moments in which God has powerfully manifested Himself in our history.

This is more than an event — it is a special national turning-point moment.

The Daily Caller published the following list of participants:

The political leaders and other public personas speaking at the event include the Republican Speaker of the House, Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth; Ambassador and Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley; and former presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, currently serving as vice chair of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, Dr. Ben Carson; Medal of Honor recipient for demonstrating heroism in the Vietnam War, Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and popular Catholic evangelist, Bishop Robert Barron.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan will also be giving a message through video.

Joining them will be heads of a variety of religious denominations and organizations that make up the U.S., including Senior Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Pastor Jack Graham; Senior Pastor of Free Chapel, Pastor Jentezen Franklin; Senior Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik; Chancellor of Liberty University and Senior Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, Pastor Jonathan Falwell; Lead Pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church, Pastor Jonathan Pokluda; Detroit-based pastor and urban community leader, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell; radio host and Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Chapel, Pastor Gary Hamrick; Lead Pastor of New Season Church and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez; and national faith leader focused on discipleship and leadership development, Pastor Andy Frank.

The Reverend Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is also slated to offer a video message at the event.

Other media personalities speaking include bestselling author and radio host discussing faith, culture and American history, Eric Metaxas; author and ministry leader with Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Cissie Graham Lynch; and journalist and faith correspondent with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Abigail Robertson.

Rededicate 250 will also showcase a range of musical and ceremonial participants, including “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, the United States Navy Band, Liberty Worship Collective, Liberty University Praise, Grand Canyon University Canyon Choir, Hillsdale College Choir, Fanfare Trumpets of the United States Armed Forces, bagpipes from the United States Air Force Band, and the Military Chaplains Prayer.

“Rededicate 250 honors the fact that, for 250 years, faith has been the greatest unifier of this country,” the director of the Domestic Policy Council of the United States, Vince Haley, said in the statement. “It carried us through revolution and civil war, through hardship and renewal.”

Haley said that Americans, “regardless of background, religion or walk of life, are invited to come to the National Mall to lift their voices together and ask God to bless this nation for the next 250 years.”

Organizers for Freedom 250 said the day will be split between three pillars: 

• The Miracles that Made Us, which reflects on the providence of God through the U.S.’s history and the faith of its founders.
• The Miracles Still in Our Midst, consisting of personal testimonies of the healing power of God throughout the land.
• A New Birth of Faith and Freedom, an expression of gratitude and of rededicating the U.S. for another 250 years of freedom, accompanied by “God’s blessing, guidance, and grace.”

Could this be the catalyst that God uses to bring another “Great Awakening” to our beloved country?

The “mayday” signal is known as a desperate cry for “help.”

Lord, we look to you alone on May 7 and 17 to revive and bless our nation.