THE

THE

HISTORY

PRAYER IN AMERICA

PRAYER has been a part of our nation since its beginning. It is America's priceless heritage.

Columbus discovered America in 1492 convinced that God had given him a special mission to carry the Light of Christ to this new land.¹

In 1620, the PILGRIMS risked their lives to come to America to be free to worship God and pray. "One hundred and two Pilgrims huddled together between the decks of the Mayflower. The severity of the incessant storms prevented them from seeing the light of day as the small ship wallowed across the Atlantic....After seven weeks, their mutual commitment to the cause of faith severely tested, they set foot on American soil at Cape Cod. Vicious storms had driven them nearly 100 miles off course.... Before landing on November 11th of that year, they drafted a compact which was to be the cornerstone of American freedom and democracy, THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT. Only two paragraphs in length, it reads in part:

In the name of God, amen. We whose names are under-

written....Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement

of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to

plant the first colony....do by these presents solemnly and mutually in

the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves
together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering and preservation

and furtherance of the ends aforesaid...."²

Having arrived in a good harbor and brought safely to land, it was BRADFORD who led them in prayer as they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and who had delivered them from all the perils thereof.³

That winter Indians, like Squanto and Massasoit, came to meet the Pilgrims. "Massasoit was a remarkable example of God's providential care for His Pilgrims as he welcomed them as a friend. When spring arrived, it was Squanto who showed them how to plant corn, stalk deer, plant pumpkins among the corn, refine maple syrup from the maple trees, discern which herbs were good to eat and good for medicine, and how to find the best berries."⁴

The Pilgrims were filled with gratitude, not only to the Indians who had been friendly, but to God who had met their needs. So, GOVERNOR BRADFORD, Governor of Plymouth Colony, declared a day of public Thanksgiving to be held in October (1621). Ninety Indians came bringing with them deer and turkeys to help with the feasting.

In 1774, THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS of the original thirteen colonies was established to resist the unfair tax practices and tyrannical laws and policies imposed on the colonies by Great Britain. Their first official act was a call for prayer.

By 1775, the American colonies wanted their independence from England. "The nation responded as one body to the ringing words of PATRICK HENRY when he said, 'If we wish to be free, we must fight!...I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.'⁵" Minutemen gathered in Lexington to meet the British soldiers and the REVOLUTIONARY WAR began. Down the country lanes sounded the horse's hooves as their rider, PAUL REVERE, cried, "To arms! The war's begun!"

GEORGE WASHINGTON was unanimously chosen to be commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army. He had been selected because of his character, integrity and leadership. "In his first general order to his troops, General Washington called on ...

Every officer and man....to live, and act, as becomes a

Christian Soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his

country."⁶

Often, Washington led his men in religious services and prayer. When he was in the army, each morning and each night he would retire for prayers. Sometimes, when he couldn't get away from the press of other people around him in his tent, he would go out into the woods to pray. It is doubtful Washington prayed more fervently than he did at Valley Forge that winter as he asked for God's help.

In 1776, "The Continental Congress called for the first national day of fasting and prayer that the Lord God might bless the land:

The Congress....Desirous....to have people of all ranks and

degrees duly impressed with a solemn sense of God's superintending

providence, and of their duty, devoutly to rely....on His aid and

direction....Do earnestly recommend Friday, the 17th day of May be

observed by the colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer."⁷

The next year, "The Continental Congress ordered 20,000 Bibles for the American troops. That law read as follows:

"The use of the Bible is so universal and its importance so

great that....the Committee recommends that Congress will order ....

20,000 Bibles...into the different parts of the States of the Union."

And, the Congress authorized its endorsement to be printed on the front page of the edition of the Bible approved for the American people."⁸

Fifty-five men gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1787 to frame a CONSTITUTION for this new nation. They met day after day for weeks without coming to agreement. It was then that Benjamin Franklin addressed George Washington, who was presiding, and said to him, "God governs in the affairs of men. Without His help, we will get nowhere."

"In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we

were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine
Protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously

answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed
frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor.

To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of

consulting in peace on means of establishing our future national felicity.

And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine

we no longer need His assistance?

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more

convincing proofs I see of this truth--that God Governs in the affairs

of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His

notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except

the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly

believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall

succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel....

I therefore beg leave to move--that henceforth prayers imploring

the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held

in this Assembly....'⁹"

These founding fathers sought God's help and blessing on their deliberations and the Constitution came into being.

When the War of Independence drew to a close, the Continental Congress became the Congress of the United States of America. A chaplain was elected to both the House of Representatives and the Senate to open each session with prayer, a practice continued

to this day.

On July 4, 1776, in THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, the delegates to the Continental Congress formally declared our national independence from Great Britain as they penned:

...."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are

created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain

unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit

of happiness....

We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the

Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our Intentions, do, in

the Name and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies,

solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of

Right ought to be, Free and Independent States....And for the support of

this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine

Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes,

and our sacred Honor."

The Colonies had become THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

As our nation looked for a president to guide this new land, they unanimously chose George Washington. As president, he spent time on his knees in prayer twice a day. At 4:00 each morning and again at 9:00 each evening, he would go to his library, fall to his knees before a chair as he prayed before an open Bible.

In his First Inaugural Address, WASHINGTON "went further than he had ever gone before in stressing the role of God in the birth of our nation. Speaking with deep gravity, these were his words:

It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official

act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being, who rules over

the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose

providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction

may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the

United States....No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore

the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the

people of the United States...."¹⁰

It was Washington who in 1789 issued the first presidential proclamation for prayer stating, "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor...."

George Washington's picture was placed on the One-Dollar bill.... He was the champion of the Revolutionary War, and more. He was already being called the father of his country during his lifetime. At his funeral, he was eulogized as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.¹¹

To our Founding Fathers, it was a foregone conclusion that the Bible was the center and source of all ultimate truth. The Bible was the most quoted source in all their writings and it was from that platform of truth that they established a democracy promising liberty and justice for all. Without absolute confidence and faith in the Bible, our nation could not have been born.

JOHN JAY, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said, "We must select Christians as leaders." And, in 1892, the Supreme Court said that their decisions must be based on Godly principles.

JOHN ADAMS, America's second President, stated, "It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His over-ruling providence."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, a great statesman, proclaimed, "We need God to be our friend, not our enemy; we need Him to be our ally, not our adversary; we need to make sure that we keep His concurring aid."

THOMAS JEFFERSON declared, "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have removed their only firm basis, that basis is a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God, that they are not to be violated but with His wrath?"

JAMES MADISON said, "We have staked the whole future of America upon governing ourselves by the Ten Commandments."

Years later, ABRAHAM LINCOLN acknowledged, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." He summoned the nation to observe a day of prayer and thanksgiving on nine different occasions saying, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But, we have forgotten God."

Other presidents also proclaimed days of prayer as the nation went to its knees imploring God's divine help and His blessing. No nation has the rich heritage of prayer that we have in America. So, in 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May.

Since National Day of Prayer was established, leaders have continued to emphasize the importance of prayer in our country. JOHN F. KENNEDY stated, "The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God."

RONALD REAGAN expressed, "Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress in their first step--humble, heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the Love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance, and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our Nation, our friends in the defense of freedom...."

GEORGE BUSH, in his 1992 National Day of Prayer Proclamation, emphasized, "....each of us can echo the timeless prayer of Solomon, the ancient king who prayed for, and received, the gift of wisdom: 'The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us; so that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways....that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.'^12"

THE GREAT SEAL of the United States appeals to Divine Providence. The front of the seal speaks of the moral character that is to make up the people of the new sovereign nation and contains the motto "E Pluribus Unum," out of many, one. The reverse side points to the Providence of God and contains the date MDCCLXXVI (1776), the date of the Declaration of Independence. This seal is on each one dollar bill. When the Declaration and the Great Seal are considered together, it is evident the Founders believed God was aiding and protecting the new American nation.¹³

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was written in 1892.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of

America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under

God , indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

"The addition of the phrase 'under God' to the Pledge was done by Congressional Act, and was signed into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954 by president Dwight Eisenhower. These words had their source in Lincoln's immortal Gettysburg Address:

...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died

in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom

and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall

not perish from the earth."¹⁴

"During the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore's harbor in 1814, FRANCIS SCOTT KEY wrote in his notebook the words that came to mind as he watched to see if the fort's huge flag was still standing after each blast. Early on the next day, a storm blew in, shrouding the attack on Baltimore's harbor. Key hoped to see the STAR SPANGLED BANNER still flying over Fort McHenry. Joyfully, at the first light of dawn, he saw the American flag still waving over the Fort. It was then that he wrote the moving poem that would become our NATIONAL ANTHEM:

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

All but forgotten, however, are the stirring words of the last stanza of our National Anthem. While rarely sung today, the words clearly reveal a faith in God's providential care, and also suggest a motto for our Nation. The last stanza of our National Anthem says:

O! thus be it ever when free men shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation;

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n-rescued land

Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then to conquer we must, when our cause it is just;

And this be our motto, 'In God is our trust!'

And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER became our NATIONAL ANTHEM on March 3, 1931."¹⁵

Francis Scott Key had proposed the words, "In God We Trust" in the last stanza of our National Anthem. They would become our national motto. But it would not be until the Civil War that these words would begin to be an official motto. They were placed upon all our coins and paper bills of currency by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865. This was the last official act signed by President Lincoln before he was assassinated. Finally, nearly a hundred years later, on July 20, 1956, "In God We Trust" was officially declared to be the MOTTO OF THE UNITED STATES. In these four simple words, our government declared that America trusted God who over-rules and protects His people.¹⁶

Since our nation's beginning, Congress has established several national days including National Day of Prayer, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving Day . It is America's right and duty to observe each of these national days.

Compiled by

Fern L. Nilson

National Area Leader

National Day of Prayer

SOURCE NOTES

¹ Marshall, Peter & Manuel, David, The Light and the Glory, 1997, p. 31.

²Crismier III, Charles, Save America Publication, 1993.

³ Marshall, Peter & Manuel, David, The Light and the Glory, 1997, p. 120.

⁴ Ibid., p. 132-133.

⁵ Ibid., p. 269.

⁶ Christian Defense Fund, One Nation Under God, 1997, p. 63-64^.

⁷ Ibid., p. 8-9.

⁸ Ibid., p. 9-10.

⁹ Ibid., p. 23-24.

¹⁰ Marshall, Peter & Manuel, David, The Light and the Glory, 1997, p.349.

¹¹ Lillback, Peter A., Freedom's Holy Light, 2000, p.12.

¹²Bible, New American Standard, I Kings 8:57-60.

¹³ Lillback, Peter A., Freedom's Holy Light, 2000, p.4-7.

¹⁴ Ibid., p. 23-24.

¹⁵ Ibid., p.18-19.

¹⁶ Ibid., p.19-20.