So, today is the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. Are you doing anything to mark the day? The NDP Task Force site has a page where you can locate NDP events near you if you want to get involved in a public service of some sort. (Note that the NDP Task Force site, as far as I can tell, is the website that coordinates specifically Christian prayer activities on the day; the NDP includes all faiths.)

Looking through the NDP event search page, I see a lot of local prayer services. But I must confess, one of the most interesting NDP event ideas I’ve seen comes from, of all places, an atheist group. The Center for Atheism in New York is encouraging atheists to go out and donate blood on the National Day of Prayer, rather than praying. It’s obviously intended partly as a political stunt, but it’s a great idea that Christians could certainly go along with: to demonstrate our faith not just by prayer, but also by concrete actions that benefit our neighbors.

Why not do both? By all means, set aside some time today to pray—but consider if you can also go a step further and match your prayer with a charitable action.