Shirley Dobson (SD) is the Chairperson of the National Day of Prayer Task Force and is nationally recognized for her leadership skills and her many contributions to women's affairs, Christian organizations, and the institution of the family.

RHS: My guest today is the Chairperson of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, Shirley Dobson. I first met Shirley and her husband – and my wife was with me – when we were in a little bus that was taking us to the Olympics in 1984. That’s about 24 years ago and I guess Shirley Dobson has never been here although her husband, Jim, has been here.

Every year more than 35,000 prayer gatherings, repeat every year more than 35,000 prayer gatherings, are organized under the National Day of Prayer and several million are inspired to pray because of her leadership.

Now I do want to say to all of you who are listening to us in Russia, or China, or in the rest of the world, we are as a country often praying for you wherever you are. And I’ve been in all of your countries and we need your prayers. And America is criticized often, sometimes wisely, sometimes promiscuously. If you love people pray for America wherever you are while America is praying for itself.

And on this National Day of Prayer we will sense and feel many people around the world who are praying for this country that really needs to be what God wants it to be. About Shirley – she’s received numerous honorary doctorates, achievement awards, and is the wife of Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family. So welcome with me Shirley Dobson.

SD: Thank you Dr. Schuller. It’s a pleasure to be here today.

RHS: You are as beautiful as you were 24 years ago.

SD: Well I wish I could say the same for you.

RHS: Well God keeps me humble.

SD: No you look great. You haven’t changed.

RHS: And I wasn’t dying my hair then.

SD: Is that right?

RHS: Yeah I’ve since decided white would be pretty so every week I dye my hair white.

SD: Well I’ve decided that I’m going to die with two things: blonde hair and a dog.

RHS: No husband? No children?

SD: Oh no, no, but if I should go before...

RHS: Oh, oh, well anyway here let’s get going. How did you get involved with the National Day of Prayer? Tell us about Vonette who’s been with us here.

SD: Okay, Vonette Bright was the co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ with her late husband, Dr. Bill Bright, and she had been the Chairman for about eight years and she decided that the Lord was taking her in a different direction. So we were having lunch and she wanted to pass the baton of the chairmanship to me, and my first reaction was, oh no Vonette, I could not ever take on anything of this magnitude. Just being the wife of James Dobson and in leadership with Focus on the Family, that’s a very full cup. So I basically just slammed the door. And I was driving home in the car and the spirit of God began dealing with me. And He didn’t say this in audible words, but He seemed to impress upon my spirit, "Shirley, you didn’t talk to Me about that. You didn’t pray about that."

So I committed to prayer and I laid out two conditions so that I would definitely know this was of the Lord. Now I know we’re not supposed to put God in a box, but I had to know whether this call was really from Him. And the two conditions were that my husband would say yes when I told him about the request and that Vonette Bright would ask me again. And I went into Jim’s office and I’ll never forget his reaction. He leaned back in his chair, he put his hands behind his head, looked me squarely in the eyes and he said, “Shirley, what more important ministry could you be involved in than calling the nation to prayer?”

Well that wasn’t what I wanted to hear and then a few weeks later, Dr. and Mrs. Bill Bright invited us out for dinner and while we were having dinner, Vonette leaned around her husband and said, “Shirley, Bill and I’ve been praying about this and we feel that you’re the one to take over the National Day of Prayer.” And so I said, “Vonette, I’ll call you in a week.” But I knew right then that this was of the Lord. So here I am 16 years later.

RHS: Now what started it in Vonette’s mind and heart?

SD: Well I think Vonette felt that there was a great need for a Day of Prayer. You know in 1952, President Truman, along with the joint resolution of Congress signed into law that we would have a National Day of Prayer annually, but no one ever knew when it was going to be. It was at the whim of the President or if we had a national disaster. But in 1988, a wonderful thing happened under President Ronald Reagan, he signed into law that the first Thursday of May would always be our nation’s Day of Prayer. And Vonette had a great dream that this would happen and helped to make it happen.

RHS: Wow. Fantastic, and what is the theme and the mission this year?

SD: Well I always go before the Lord, Dr. Schuller, and I ask Him, “God what’s on Your heart for our nation this year?” And I think He gave me a very appropriate theme this year and it’s, Prayer: America’s Strength and Shield. And we took it from Psalm 28:7, which says, “The Lord is my strength and shield. My heart trusts in Him and I am helped.”

You know in the scriptures it tells us that the shields of the earth belong to the Lord. It is God that is our protector, and our defender, and our sustainer. And you know we’re living in very uncertain times, in fact, I wrote a little book called, Certain Peace in Uncertain Times, which gives four simple steps to prayer that will enable us to experience a sense of God’s peace although we’re living in very anxious days.

And Dr. Schuller, you know, people out here in your congregation and around our nation, and around the world, they’re concerned for their families, they’re concerned for national security, and they’re concerned about our economy. And we’re concerned about our elections, and we’re concerned about our wonderful men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet there doesn’t seem to be any answers, but we know that on our knees God has the answer. And if we will inquire of Him, if we will meet with Him, He will give us that peace and direction that we’re looking for.

RHS: Shirley, what are some of the creative ideas people are doing to celebrate the National Day of Prayer?

SD: Dr. Schuller, I am amazed at the creativity of these coordinators out there in our nation. Of course we’re hoping that everybody will pray around their dinner table, driving back and forth to work, but also there are prayer gatherings across this nation and Dr. Schuller you mentioned 35 but actually I think we’re expecting between 40 to 50,000 prayer gatherings this year.

RHS: Wow.

SD: And let me just tell you about some of the creative ones. Up in Alaska, there’s a 300 mile train ride. They’re going to be praying the whole 300 miles.

RHS: (LAUGHS)

SD: And in Dallas they are chartering tour buses and prayer groups are going to be getting on those buses and they’re going to be stopping at the centers of power in their city and praying. I heard yesterday that 191 Federal prisons are going to be participating in the National Day of Prayer, and 220,000 prisoners will be praying for our country and for those that lead us. And I think one of the most creative one that I heard was prayer in the air, where private pilots that have planes are going to be circling their state capitals, praying for their states, praying for the nation and for those that lead us, and we have 39. So if you want to find out...

RHS: Oh.

SD: ...what state is not covered, log onto nationaldayofprayer.org and you can see the states that we are still trying to cover with these planes. And if you have a plane, here you go. Take off on the National Day of Prayer.

RHS: Tell me now, I know the answer but I want to hear it from you and you need to tell the world of listeners how you have seen the power of prayer in your own life.

SD: I’d be glad to. Well, Dr. Schuller, I have prayed many prayers in my lifetime. Sometimes God said yes, sometimes God said no, and sometimes God has said wait. But I think one of the most dramatic prayers that I have seen has been the growth of the National Day of Prayer. I took over this ministry with $6,000 and one volunteer. And I was as you know it’s easy to say yes to something, but I was home one night all alone about three weeks after I had accepted this responsibility, and I literally got down with my face on the carpet, in my bedroom, and I began praying and saying, Lord, where do I begin to call a nation to prayer with $6,000 and one volunteer. And here we are 16 years later; we have probably between 40-50,000 prayer gatherings, every Governor for the last three years has written a proclamation to proclaim a Day of Prayer in their state...

RHS: Wonderful.

SD: ...and of course our President for the last seven years has observed our nation’s Day of Prayer in the White House. So I think to see the growth of prayer has been a remarkable answer to my prayers and many others.

RHS: Wow. Tell me, we all know your famous and courageous and intelligent husband, but do you have children?

SD: We do, we have a son that lives in Colorado Springs, and a grandson named Lincoln, and his wife Laura. And then we have a daughter that lives right here in California, in Pasadena.

RHS: Fantastic.

SD: And they’re both serving the Lord in their spheres of influence and we’re very proud of them.

RHS: That’s fantastic. A lot of people are listening. How do they get involved?

SD: Well I think the best way is to go to our website, nationaldayofprayer.org, it will tell you where there is a prayer gathering near your community, and if there’s not one, and you might check with your church or your pastor and see if they’re participating in the National Day of Prayer. And I want to thank you because I know you and your congregation every year do participate in our nation’s Day of Prayer, and I want to thank you for that.

But you know if you can’t find anything, I heard of a neighbor, she’s going to load five friends into her SUV and they’re going to go to the City Hall, to the School Board, to the Police Department, to the hospitals, and they’re going to pray over them. You can pray around your dinner table. You can pray on your way to work or on the drive back. Prayer is available at any time, but the most important thing is to pray for this great nation and for our friends around the world and their countries, and also to pray for those that lead us.

RHS: This church will be open all day on the Day of Prayer. I think its open every day anyway but that’s special, so come anytime. Shirley, will you pray for us?

SD: I’d be glad to. Would you take the hand of the person next to you?

Our gracious heavenly Father, we humbly come before You in prayer today. We thank You for the blessings that You have bestowed on this land. We thank You Lord for Your protection. We thank You Lord that we can come before You right now in prayer. We don’t need to go through a secretary; we don’t have to make an appointment because You are always available.

You hear us when we call. And Lord, we thank You that You also are the sustainer of our nation and the nations around the world. And we pray for peace. We pray that You would bring peace in the hearts of men. And we pray, oh Lord, that we would turn our hearts back to You.

We know in many ways that we have disrespected Your word. We have not honored Your name, and we ask You to forgive us for that, Lord. And we pray in keeping with Your word that You said, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven. I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land. And oh Lord, may it be so for we ask it in the name of Christ our Savior, Amen.

RHS: Thank you Shirley. God loves you...

SD: Thank you.

RHS: ...and so do we.

SD: Thank you. Thank you Dr. Schuller. God bless you and the good work you’re doing here.