On Thursday, May 6th, Christians across the US joined together to call upon God for the sake of our country during the 70th annual National Day of Prayer. The theme of this year’s event was “Love, Life and Liberty,” drawing from the New King James Version of 2 Corinthians 3:17, which declares, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Dr. James Dobson, founder, and president of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute said he can’t recall a time in recent history when the United States was in more desperate need of God’s intervention.
“ It seems the very foundations of America are crumbling, and our culture is embracing lawlessness and depravity. These are truly dark days,” he said. “But the darkness will not prevail! Though I fear what may become of this nation, there is one thing I know with great certainty: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lives! In Him, we have placed our hope and trust. We will praise Him and call on Him to bring healing to our land, to mend what is torn, and to restore what has been lost.”If ever there was a time that America needed prayer, it is now. We serve a good and powerful God—One who can accomplish all things.”
President Biden issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation that touted the “power of prayer” and invited Americans to “give thanks.” The problem was that he left somebody out of it. Namely, God. The late Congressman John Lewis got a shout out. So did the “existential threat of climate change.” But not the Creator. That sparked much criticism from Christians and marked the first time that’s happened in modern history. By a 1952 law, every U.S. president must issue a proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer.
By contrast, former President Donald Trump’s most recent proclamation recognizing the National Day of Prayer in 2020 included the word “God” 11 times. Former President Barack Obama’s most recent National Day of Prayer proclamation issued in 2016 featured the word “God” twice.
“Joe Biden’s National Day of Prayer Proclamation doesn’t even mention God once!” Christian Broadcasting Network Chief Political Correspondent David Brody commented on Twitter. “How do you release a proclamation about prayer and not mention God at all? Of course it mentions climate change & racial justice. Truly, this is pathetic…and not surprising.”
On top of that, 2021 was the first year that there was no formal gathering at the U.S. Capitol for the National Day of Prayer. Rev. Patrick Mahoney was denied a permit to hold a prayer gathering in honor of this celebration.
“It is deeply troubling for the first time in 70 years, there will be NO PUBLIC witness at the U.S. Capitol Building for the National Day Of Prayer! Brothers and sisters, free speech is in danger today in America,” Mahoney complained. “How is it possible to have public prayer prohibited at the Capitol on the National Day of Prayer?—especially when it is a national observance designated by Congress.”
The “People’s House,” as the U.S. Capitol Building is so rightly called, must be a place where all Americans are afforded the right to come and peacefully celebrate and express their First Amendment rights. Tragically, those rights and freedoms have been denied and prohibited.