National Day of Prayer 2012 - Images by Fabian Lewkowicz

Worshipers pray at Santa Monica City Hall's lawn during the 22nd annual observance of the National Day of Prayer 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