Nate Scribner sings, “Everything that has Breath Praise the Lord” during the 22nd annual observance of the National Day of Prayer at Santa Monica City Hall’s lawn on Thursday, May 3, 2012. The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. The modern law formalizing its annual observance was enacted in 1952, although it has historical origins to a mandate by George Washington, the first president of the United States.