Thursday, Warren County residents will join other people across the U.S. to pray for our country in observance of National Day of Prayer.

The theme for this year’s observance is Pray for America — Unity.

Presently, three locations in Vicksburg have been designated as prayer sites, said Dr. Willie Nettle, pastor of Bypass Church of Christ and chairman of the Vicksburg/Warren County National Day of Prayer Planning Committee — the monuments area of Pemberton Plaza across from Newk’s, Word of Faith Christian Center and Heritage House Nursing Home.

The programs at Pemberton Plaza and Word of Faith are from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. The observance at Heritage House is at 10 a.m.

“I’m waiting on confirmation on one (site) at City Hall,” Nettle said.

The programs will be preceded by a prayer breakfast from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at Bypass Church of Christ, 785 Hwy. 61 North, across the highway from the Sonic drive-in. The cost is $6 per person. People wishing to participate in the prayer breakfast should call 601-638-5142 or wjnettle@yahoo.com no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday to reserve a place.

Dr. Walter Frazier, director of Grace Christian Counseling Center, will be the featured speaker, and member of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Warren County Board of Supervisors will also speak.

National days of prayer have been a part of America’s history since before the Revolutionary War, when the Continental Congress in 1775 asked the colonies for wisdom in forming the new nation. Abraham Lincoln called for a day of humility, fasting and prayer in 1863 during the Civil War.

President Harry Truman in 1952 signed a law calling for a national day of prayer, and in 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed an amendment to the law establishing the first Thursday in May as a day of national prayer.