(May 3, 2007)--Shirley Dobson says President Bush and the governors of all 50 states have proclaimed Thursday the National Day of Prayer.

Dobson chairs the annual event, which is held on the first Thursday in May.

She says Americans have plenty to pray about this year, from the massacre at Virginia Tech to family breakdown, the Iraq war and political gridlock in Washington.

Dobson says as many as 40,000 National Day of Prayer events are planned Thursday.

President Bush's proclamation urges Americans to give thanks "for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God's continued guidance, comfort and protection."

Thursday Is Also National Day Of Reason

The American Humanist Association, meanwhile, plans to observe a National Day of Reason Thursday as an alternative for nonbelievers to the National Day of Prayer.

Fred Edwords of the American Humanist Association says his organization and others will observe a National Day of Reason instead this Thursday.

While it isn't as widely recognized or proclaimed as the National Day of Prayer, Edwords says the National Day of Reason is a needed "antidote" to prayers that he considers pointless.

Edwords says he and other humanists figure that if there is a God, He's unlikely to need people's advice or suggestions.

He maintains that while prayer may make people feel better, "it isn't going to work and it really doesn't make sense."

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