Community leaders, pastors gather in downtown Louisville to mark 73rd National Day of Prayer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Local community leaders and pastors gathered in Louisville on Thursday, all in the name of faith.

People all over the country took part in the 73rd annual National Day of Prayer, which typically falls on the first Thursday in May in the U.S.

In Louisville, people of all walks of life gathered at Metro Hall to pray together and encourage others of all faiths and belief systems to incorporate prayer into their daily lives.

"Our country needs prayer," Dr. Frank Simon, director of the American Family Association of Kentucky, said. "There are a lot of problems in our country and we're all getting together to ask the Lord Jesus to heal our land and to bless our nation and be one nation under God."

This year's theme for the National Day of Prayer was "Lift up the world, light up the world."