Unity was the theme of the National Day of Prayer celebrated Thursday at Sugar Hill United Methodist Church and the Downtown Post Office.
Those locations were among 30,000 sites across the nation commemorating the event.
"This is essential because of the direction our country is headed in," said Missy White, coordinator of the Day of Prayer event at SHUMC. "We're bombarded with all the negative, but there is so much good that's still here."
Attendees of the event joined together for the Pledge of Allegiance, singing "America the Beautiful" and reciting the Lord's Prayer.
Speakers focused on praying for seven different areas, including government, military, media, business, education, church and family.
"This is a time for people of all faiths to pray together," White said. "Every temptation comes to us via our own thoughts. Reinforce your mind with God's word and keep your eyes on Him."
Hart Jeanis prayed for the government.
"Give our government leaders knowledge and fortitude to make decisions that are pleasing to you. We ask you today to unify our nation under God," Jeanis said.
Jenelle Ingram, coordinator of teacher mentoring and academic affairs at Texarkana Independent School District, spoke about the need for prayer for educators, school employees and students.
"I was looking at the statistics earlier. Since April 1999 until February of this year, there have been over 200,000 children affected by school violence. If ever there was a time schools need prayer, it's now," Ingram said. "Pray for our teachers, administrators and children every day who come to school in a very different world than 20 years ago."
Karen Rhodes, mother of four and grandmother of 10, prayed for family.
"Thank you for asking me to do this. It means a lot to me-families and the power of prayer," Rhodes said. "Healthy families are those united by a solid foundation in Christ. Family is being redefined to suit the standards of this world. Marriages are failing at an alarming rate. Families may be falling apart, but God can make them whole again. God-centered families are more important now than ever in our history."
The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The law was unanimously amended by both the House and the Senate in 1988, designating the first Thursday in May as a day of prayer across the nation. It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.