(dramatic music)

- In 1952, PresidentHarry Truman established

the National Day ofPrayer, and 32 years ago,

President Ronald Reagan designated it

for the first Thursday of May.

Over the years, it's becomea huge national event,

drawing large crowds, but this year,

because of COVID-19, it takesan unprecedented approach.

♪ Breath in our lungs ♪- This is how last year's

National Day of Prayer kicked off,

with a large gathering atthe White House Rose Garden.

And this was the scene on Capitol Hill,

the annual tradition of a marathon,

24-hour-a-day reading of the Bible

in dozens of different languages.

But in 2020, the COVID-19 shutdown

and the calls forcontinued social distancing

have forced an unprecedented cancellation

of all National Day ofPrayer public gatherings.

That's not stopping Prayerfor the Nation though,

as the 2020 National Dayof Prayer moves online.

- Well joining us now areKathy Branzell and Will Graham,

co-hosts of tonight's online

National Day of Prayer gathering.

And Kathy, you're the president

of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

When did you first realizeyou'd have to change

and take the Day of Prayer online?

- Oh, well, I guess aboutthree or four months ago

when we saw what washappening in our nation,

we knew we were gonna haveto start thinking through

and praying through whatGod would have us do.

We knew we would not cancel or postpone

because we have the first Thursday of May,

but we were able to pivot as we needed to

and, as you can see,this is a beautiful place

for us to end up forour national observance.

- Yeah, you're right in frontof the Billy Graham Library.

So Will Graham, tell usabout this year's theme,

taken from the OldTestament book of Habakkuk,

God's Glory Across theEarth, and how you see it

in light of the current COVID pandemic.

- Well you're exactly right,

especially with the COVIDpandemic that's been going on.

We've seen a hugeoutpouring of God's spirit

on not only just our country,but around the world.

We've seen thousands of peoplegive their life to Christ,

and so I think this isreally a spiritual awakening

that's taking place andpeople repenting of their sins

and coming to Christ lookingfor spiritual answers,

and through that, it brings God glory.

And so I think this is very timely,

especially for my generation.

This is a great timethat we look to the Lord,

look for help, spiritual help,

to see if maybe a great revivalstart, take place even now.

Even in the midst of tragedy,this pandemic that's going on,

I pray that God will use this day

to help get our countrygoing in the right direction.

- Well you just talked about revival.

Let me ask you specifics.

How do you see this revival?

In years past in America,

with the Great Awakening,the Second Great Awakening,

those were mass events.

The revival that swept through New England

in the Great Awakeningwas absolutely historic.

How do you see this time?

How will revival come?

- Well revival starts always the same way,

and all those that you just mentioned,

they started the exact same way.

Even my granddaddy's call toministry started the same way

for that revival withMordecai Ham back in the '30s,

- Yeah.

- and it started with prayer.

And that's why this event is so important,

the National Day of Prayer,

'cause this is how it doesstart, through prayer.

We're seeing a lot of young people,

older people, all generations come online

and they're looking for spiritual answers,

and so I think this is a timely time

that we actually take theNational Day of Prayer online.

Now we didn't plan it this way,

but now we see this as anopportunity that God's given us

and a new platform to go online.

We're so grateful forpeople like CBN and others

that helped put this on broadcast as well

so we can help sharethe good news of Christ

and pray for our country.

And so that's very important.

That's why I think thatrevival will start,

is because this is a great time

to be praying for our country.- Amen.

Kathy, tell us abouthow people can watch it.

Starts tonight at 8:00 p.m.

How can people watch?

- Right, so after you'veprayed your way through the day

with different states and cities,

we have virtual prayer times

and some safe in-person prayertimes throughout the day,

but at eight o'clock Eastern time,

you can watch at NationalDayofPrayer.org.

You can watch on ourNational Day of Prayer

Task Force Facebook page.

Also, GOD TV and severalothers will be carrying it.

We are grateful to all of ourChristian television networks

and radio stations, including CBN,

who are partnering with us

and helping to carry prayer across America

and into the hearts andhomes of our prayer partners.

- How are you encouragingpeople to prepare for this?

What can people be doingthroughout the day?

- If you go on theNationalDayofPrayer.org website

and click on Events, you'llbe able to find events

right there in your city and state.

You'll be able to watch them online.

We've got prayer parades going on.

We have our prayer flight team in the air,

our pilots up there and passengers praying

across our states, butpeople need to be praying

for our country and prayingGod's glory across the Earth.

- Well Will and Kathy,thank you for doing this.

It's a great honor forus to be a part of it.

CBN will broadcast tonight'stwo-hour event live

on the CBN News Channel.

Stream it on CBNNews.com,our CBN app, CBN Family,

and on YouTube.

You can find out moreabout tonight's event

by going to CBNNews.com andalso NationalDayofPrayer.org.

I encourage you to do it

and not just watch, but please pray.

If there was ever a callto prayer in our nation,

in our world today, let ushave this be a worldwide event.

So Will and Kathy, again, thank you.

Thank you for what you're doing.

- Thank you, Gordon.- Thank you.

- All right, God bless you.