In July, President Donald Trump announced plans for a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th birthday to culminate in spectacular fashion on Independence Day 2026. But before the nation’s capital is immersed in patriotic pageantry befitting such a historic milestone, the president is calling the country to pray.
“As we prepare to celebrate two-and-a-half centuries of freedom, I am inviting America’s great religious communities to pray for our nation and for our people,” Trump said during the kickoff event held July 3 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. “From the beginning, this has always been a country sustained and strengthened by prayer. …So, as we chart our course for the next 250 years, let us rededicate ourselves to one nation under God.”
The call to pray is a priority for evangelical Christians, who know that prayer must be true prayer, prayed in the Name of Jesus to the one true God. During a meeting of the Trump-appointed Religious Liberty Commission, held at the Museum of the Bible in early September, Scott Turner, U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development and a Southern Baptist minister, cast the vision for “America Prays” and said more than 70 faith organizations had already joined the initiative.
“What if one million people prayed for our country every single week between now and next July 4th? More specifically, what if believers all across this great nation got together with 10 people—friends, family members, colleagues, work associates—10 people each week to pray for our country and our fellow citizens?” Turner asked.
Dave Kubal, president of Intercessors for America (IFA), believes that the Trump administration’s prayer initiative could mobilize millions of prayer warriors. “God’s put a passion on the hearts of people in America to pray for this country and on a grand scale,” he said. “We interact with over a million intercessors a month. And it’s just evidence of people’s spiritual desire because God is moving them to pray for the nation.”
Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, said that more than 500 church members are praying weekly for the nation and its leaders. “It’s a joy for us to participate in this spiritual effort that comes at such a critical time in the history of the country we love,” Jeffress said.
“There is no more important service for Christians to provide for our country and its leaders than consistent, fervent prayers on their behalf. As our nation’s 250th anniversary approaches, I am thrilled to accept the call to prayer put forward by President Donald J. Trump and the White House Faith Office. This is something our Lord Jesus Christ has already called us to do. Scripture directs us to pray for ‘all who are in high positions’ because this ‘is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’” (1 Timothy 2:2-4, ESV).
In late October, the House Freedom Caucus co-hosted an online prayer event with the Family Research Council (FRC) called “Congress Prays For America.”
Rep. Andy Harris, from Maryland’s 1st congressional district, is chairman of the caucus. “Prayer isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a declaration of humility and that our wisdom is limited, our strength is finite and our hope rests in the hands of a faithful God,” Harris said during the hour-long prayer meeting. “In times like these, when our nation feels divided, when political violence and fear threaten to harden our hearts, prayer is exactly what we need. We can draft laws and cast votes, but only God can change hearts.”
Kubal said the Trump administration’s prioritizing of prayer reflects the emphasis of the White House Faith Office, which is prominently located in the West Wing directly above the Oval Office.
“God calls us to pray and intercede for those who lead our governments,” he said. “God cares about government because God invented government. It’s created by Him to protect the innocent from the evildoer.”
Prayer for Church Leaders
FRC President Tony Perkins exhorted Christians to pray for their church leaders as well. “The church needs to rediscover its prophetic voice of declaring the Word of God and walking that out in our communities,” he said. “We want to continue to call upon the God of all hope who has the ability to transform our nation into the nation that we desire to be.”
In addition to IFA’s national network of chapters in every state, the ministry has enlisted nearly 1,000 ambassadors over the past six months to lead prayer ministries in their local churches. Kubal said it’s time to recognize more prayerfully how the God of the universe moves at governmental levels.
And Turner believes that the fervent prayer of the righteous can transform America into that “shining city on a hill” that he believes God intended her to be.
“Father, help us to be godly men and godly women,” Turner prayed. “Father, help us to surrender to the power, to the presence and to the will of God. … As we call our nation to pray, Lord God, as we rededicate our nation to one nation under God, Father, we pray for Your forgiveness. We pray, Lord Jesus, that You would, Lord, give us great favor and understanding.”
