My Prayer Today
Gracious heavenly Father, I bring you thanksgiving for this great nation that you have chosen to lift up to power at this time in history. I thank you for the many opportunities that Americans have to serve your kingdom, both at home and throughout the world. I thank you for instilling the desire in many to recognize your goodness and righteousness and your hand in the foundation and building up of our nation. I thank you for bringing us a leader now who acknowledges his faith in Jesus Christ and is unashamed of that. Please continue to grant him your supreme wisdom and humble his heart, so that he may serve your heavenly kingdom. May he not lose sight of you Lord and may he be granted the discernment needed to make the crucial decisions facing our country. May he be given the opportunity to serve you and this country for another term as president.
Lord I ask that you would continue to pour out your blessings upon this country and that we would turn to you for guidance and knowledge. If it be your will, bring your people into positions to lead this nation in a Godly manner, so that we might serve you for your glory and not our own. Keep our soldiers safe and bring forth your angels to keep charge over them. I thank you for the sacrifices they make to defend our liberties and freedoms. I thank you for their sacrifice to bring liberty and freedom to the multitudes in your world. May we be used in a mighty way to bring forth your perfect peace to the world. May the leaders around the world submit themselves to your will Lord and not seek their own agenda, their own glory, but the glory of Him, who is most high. By the blood of Jesus Christ only, do I pray these words to you. Amen.
Taken from National Day of Prayer Website
History
The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln's proclamation of a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863. 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. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations.
Why?
The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation. It enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call to us to humbly come before God, seeking His guidance for our leaders and His grace upon us as a people. The unanimous passage of the bill establishing the National Day of Prayer as an annual event, signifies that prayer is as important to our nation today as it was in the beginning.
In his first Inaugural Address, President George Washington prayed that the Almighty would preserve the freedom of all Americans. On the National Day of Prayer, we celebrate that freedom and America's great tradition of prayer. The National Day of Prayer encourages Americans of every faith to give thanks for God's many blessings and to pray for each other and our Nation.
Prayer is an opportunity to praise God for His mighty works, His gift of freedom, His mercy, and His boundless love. Through prayer, we recognize the limits of earthly power and acknowledge the sovereignty of God. According to Scripture, "the Lord is near to all who call upon Him . . .He also will hear their cry, and save them." Prayer leads to humility and a grateful heart, and it turns our minds to the needs of others.
On this National Day of Prayer, we pray especially for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who are serving around the world to defend the cause of liberty. We are grateful for their courage and sacrifice and ask God to comfort their families while they are away from home. We also pray that the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, and throughout the Greater Middle East, may live in safety and freedom. During this time, we continue to ask God's blessing for our Nation, granting us strength to meet the challenges ahead and wisdom as we work to build a more peaceful future for all.
The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on our citizens to reaffirm the role of prayer in our society by recognizing annually a "National Day of Prayer."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2004, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God's continued guidance and protection. I also urge all Americans to join in observing this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
Maybe we should also be praying for those Iraqui prisoners who our own soldiers treated in such an inhumane way. And for all faiths, may the message of the day be that prayer isn't such a bad thing, no matter how you define your G-d. (To me, it's all the same G-d, just different interpretations of an entity larger than all of us.)
Posted by: Rob at May 6, 2004 12:40 PMThat's the beauty of the day, Rob; we all have the freedom to pray the prayers on our heart to our God. If you feel so led, pray for those prisoners and possibly the families of the dead Americans that were murdered, dragged through the streets, burned, and hung up which is an even greater atrocity.
Posted by: Jeff Price at May 6, 2004 12:52 PM