A federal statute, 36 USC 169h, provides:
The President shall set aside and proclaim the first Thursday in May in each year as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.
Yesterday was the first Thursday in May, and earlier this week President Biden issued a Proclamation (full text) announcing the day. It reads in part:
Today, we remember and celebrate the role that the healing balm of prayer can play in our lives and in the life of our Nation. As we continue to confront the crises and challenges of our time — from a deadly pandemic, to the loss of lives and livelihoods in its wake, to a reckoning on racial justice, to the existential threat of climate change — Americans of faith can call upon the power of prayer to provide hope and uplift us for the work ahead.
UPDATE: The President's Proclamation has created some controversy. A Liberty Counsel press release says in part:
For the first time in 70 years, there was not a public prayer gathering at the U.S. Capitol Building yesterday during The National Day of Prayer, and Joe Biden made no mention of God in his proclamation.
