Dear Cedar Heights
Baptist Church,
As people of faith, we
have the opportunity this Thursday to cry out to the One True God on behalf of
our nation. We do not call out generically to the gods of a pluralistic nation
in the midst of their pantheon of gods. Rather, we cry out to the God of the
Scriptures: Yahweh, El Shaddai (Almighty God), the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Will you join with me in praying
to our One True Triune God this Thursday for the National Day of Prayer?
Kevin Wilkening
National Day of Prayer, 2011 -- By the
President of the United States of America -- A Proclamation
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following proclamation is released by the White House:
Throughout our history, Americans have
turned to prayer for strength, inspiration, and solidarity.
Prayer has played an important role in the
American story and in shaping our Nation's leaders. President Abraham Lincoln
once said, "I have been driven many times upon my knees by the
overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that
of all about me seemed insufficient for the day." The late Coretta Scott
King recounted a particularly difficult night, during the Montgomery bus
boycott, when her husband, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received a
threatening phone call and prayed at the kitchen table, saying, "Lord, I
have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can't
face it alone." Dr. King said, in that moment of prayer, he was filled
with a sense of comfort and resolve, which his wife credited as a turning point
in the civil rights movement.
It is thus fitting that, from the earliest
years of our country's history, Congress and Presidents have set aside days to
recognize the role prayer has played in so many definitive moments in our
history. On this National Day of Prayer, let us follow the example of President
Lincoln and Dr. King. Let us be thankful for the liberty that allows people of
all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their
conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other freedoms and blessings
that we often take for granted.
Let us pray for the men and women of our
Armed Forces and the many selfless sacrifices they and their families make on
behalf of our Nation. Let us pray for the police officers, fire fighters, and
other first responders who put themselves in harm's way every day to protect
their fellow citizens. And let us ask God for the sustenance and guidance for
all of us to meet the great challenges we face as a Nation.
Let us remember in our thoughts and
prayers those who have been affected by natural disasters at home and abroad in
recent months, as well as those working tirelessly to render assistance. And,
at a time when many around the world face uncertainty and unrest, but also hold
resurgent hope for freedom and justice, let our prayers be with men and women
everywhere who seek peace, human dignity, and the same rights we treasure here
in America.
The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as
amended, has called on the President to issue each year a proclamation
designating the first Thursday in May as a "National Day of Prayer."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President
of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2011, as a National
Day of Prayer. I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or
conscience directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we
enjoy, and I ask all people of faith to join me in asking God for guidance,
mercy, and protection for our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my
hand this twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand
eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred
and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA