National Day of Prayer 2027 is on Thursday

About National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer asks Americans to set aside time, alone or together, to pray and reflect on the country, its leaders and its people. Participation is voluntary. Congregations, community groups and individuals of many traditions hold services, breakfasts and gatherings, and some state capitols and city halls host public events.

Congress created the observance in a joint resolution approved on April 17, 1952, during Harry Truman's presidency. That law told the president to choose a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, on which people could turn to God in prayer and meditation. Truman's first proclamation under it, issued in June 1952, picked Friday, July 4, to coincide with the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. For the next three and a half decades the date changed from year to year.

In 1988 Congress fixed the date. Public Law 100-307, approved on May 5, 1988, during Ronald Reagan's presidency, directs the president to proclaim the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer each year. That requirement now sits at 36 U.S.C. 119, and the president issues the proclamation each spring.

The government sets the date but does not organize the events. The best-known private organizer is the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a nonprofit based in Colorado Springs that chooses a yearly theme and coordinates gatherings nationwide; it traces the American practice of calls to prayer back to the Continental Congress in 1775. Other religious and interfaith groups run their own observances, and the day is not a federal holiday.

Sources: 36 U.S. Code § 119 - National Day of Prayer (Cornell Legal Information Institute), American Presidency Project: Truman, Proclamation 2978, National Day of Prayer, 1952, Federal Register: National Day of Prayer, 2025, National Day of Prayer Task Force: About. How we check dates.

How to mark National Day of Prayer

• Attend a prayer service or interfaith gathering hosted by a local congregation, city hall or community group.
• Set aside a few quiet minutes during the day to pray, meditate or reflect on your community and the country.
• Read the president's proclamation for this year and talk about it with your family or faith group.
• Pray for, or write a note of thanks to, local first responders, teachers, health workers or service members.
• Invite neighbors from different faith backgrounds to share how their traditions pray for the common good.

National Day of Prayer dates