NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER, 2016
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
In times of steady calm and extraordinary change alike, Americans of all walks of life have long turned to prayer to seek refuge, demonstrate gratitude, and discover peace. Sustaining us through great uncertainty and moments of sorrow, prayer allows us an outlet for introspection, and for expressing our hopes, desires, and fears. It offers strength in the face of hardship, and redemption when we falter. Our country was founded on the idea of religious freedom, and we have long upheld the belief that how we pray and whether we pray are matters reserved for an individual's own conscience. On National Day of Prayer, we rededicate ourselves to extending this freedom to all people.
Every day, women and men use the wisdom gained from humble prayer to spread kindness and to make our world a better place. Faith communities at home and abroad have helped feed the hungry, heal the sick, and protect innocents from violence. Nurturing communities with love and understanding, their prayer inspires their work, which embodies a timeless notion that has kept humanity going through the ages -- that one of our most sacred responsibilities is to give of ourselves in service to others.
The threats of poverty, violence, and war around the world are all too real. Our faith and our earnest prayers can be cures for the fear we feel as we confront these realities. Helping us resist despair, paralysis, or cynicism, prayer offers a powerful alternative to pessimism. Through prayer, we often gain the insight to learn from our mistakes, the motivation to always be better, and the courage to stand up for what is right, even when it is not popular.
Each of us is an author in our collective American story, and in participating in our national discourse to address some of our Nation's greatest challenges, we are reminded of the blessing we have to live in a land where we are able to freely express the beliefs we hold in our hearts. The United States will continue to stand up for those around the world who are subject to fear or violence because of their religion or beliefs. As a Nation free to practice our faith as we choose, we must remember those around the world who are not afforded this freedom, and we must recommit to building a society where all can enjoy this liberty and live their lives in peace and dignity.
On this day, may our faiths enable us to sow the seeds of progress in our ever-changing world. Let us resolve to guide our children and grandchildren to embrace freedom for all, to see God in everyone, and to remember that no matter what differences they may have, they, just like we, will always be united by their common humanity.
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, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2016, as National Day of Prayer. I invite the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I join all people of faith in asking for God's continued guidance, mercy, and protection as we seek a more just world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
BARACK OBAMA
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President Barack Obama Calls on Americans to Pray
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Facebook TwitterI bless your holy and righteous name and as a citizen of this great country, which is blessed because of your loving kindness, grace, and mercy extended to us is so vast. Please forgive all of us for our sins. Thank you for the people you’ve placed in position to lead us. Guide them in your way on divine purpose, please. Thank you for our President, Barack Obama, and continue to give him wisdom. Reset our moral compass and let your righteousness reign! In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Harry S Truman
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
Proverbs 8:14
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
Harry S Truman
“I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.”
Job 16:16
16 My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
GEORGE WASHINGTON,
Farewell Address to the People of the United States
“Truth
will ultimately prevail where there is
pains
taken to bring it to light.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON,
letter to John A. Washington, Jul. 18, 1755
“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark
of celestial fire,
called conscience.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON,
Address to the Officers of the Virginia Regiment, Jan. 8, 1756
By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability and expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, altho’ death was levelling my companions on every side
2 Peter 1
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.