Lankford Joins Franklin Graham to Recognize the 70th Anniversary of the National Day of Prayer

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) is joined by Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, to recognize the power of prayer and its necessity for our nation and leaders. Thursday, May 6, 2021, marks the70^th anniversary of the National Day of Prayer, a day when people in communities all across the country will join together in prayer. Lankford will recognize the day at Stillwater Church of Christ in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This is an annual event for the faith community to pray for Stillwater.

“There are some in our world who have been led to believe that prayer is ineffective or pointless. Prayer is powerful in times of tragedy and in times of thanksgiving. Especially in times of need, prayer is necessary to help us overcome the battles we face as a nation or in our own lives,” said Lankford. “Today, we recognize the importance of prayer for our nation and its leaders. May God bless us today and every day as we continue to turn to Him in prayer.” 

“Our country is in trouble. We are in a downward spiral morally and spiritually,” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “The only hope for our country is Christians praying for Almighty God to intervene. We need to pray that God would turn this nation back to Him.”

As the chair of the Values Action Team and previous co-chair of the National Prayer Breakfast, Lankford is a leader to advocate for religious freedom for all Americans, especially faith in the public square. Since 2016, Lankford has prayed on the Senate floor to recognize the day. In 2019, during his annual speech, he stated “it’s not a terrible thing to do as a nation to be able to love and to be able to pray for each other.” Lankford has also supported the rights of Americans to live their faith, including support for a football coach in Washington state who, in 2015, was put on administrative leave after he refused to stop praying at the 50-yard line after the conclusion of games. He also worked tirelessly to ensure the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson. Pastor Brunson was detained by Turkish officials on unjust charges of espionage. During the health pandemic, Lankford demanded that house of worship are equal to all secular organizations in terms of restrictions by filing an amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2021 to ensure that churches and houses of worship are treated the same.

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