President Donald Trump’s Proclamation of Sunday as a Day
of Prayer for the victims of Hurricane Harvey was the “American” thing to do. From
its inception, America has turned to God in times of crises. Prayer has been
the very lifeblood of this nation
For example, at the opening of the First Continental
Congress on September 5, 1774, the delegates began with Bible reading and
prayer. Rev Jacob Dusche of Philadelphia read the entire 35th
chapter of Psalms and it had a powerful impact on everyone present.
The Psalm is a prayer of David for deliverance and begins
with the words, Plead my cause O LORD with those who strive against me;
fight against those who fight against me. The Psalm ends with praise for
God’s deliverance.
With British troops on American soil and occupying the
city of Boston, the Psalm resonated deeply with everyone present. At the end of
the reading Rev. Dusche began to pray and everyone present lifted their hearts
to heaven in sincere prayer to God for his assistance in their struggle for
liberty.
John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the impact of
the Bible reading and prayer on the delegates. He wrote,
Who can realize the emotions with
which they turned imploringly to heaven for divine
interposition and aid. It was enough to melt a heart of stone. I never saw a
greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm
to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific
Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 122).
The
Congress and the Nation Prayed
Prayer continued to be a daily and vital part of the
proceedings of the Continental Congress. Years later, when Benjamin Franklin
called the delegates of the Constitutional Convention to prayer, he reminded
them, “In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were
sensible to danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection.”
Indeed, the Catholic scholar, Michael Novak, is correct
when he says, “In all moments of imminent danger, as in the first Act of the First Continental Congress, the founding
generation turned to prayer” (Hyatt, Pilgrimsand Patriots, 124).
During the Revolutionary War, the Congress issued no less
than fifteen separate calls for special days of prayer and fasting. For
example, during the fall of 1776, when the morale of the army and populace had
sunk to an all-time low because of a poor harvest and hardship on the
battlefield, Congress proclaimed December 11, 1776, as a Day of Fasting and
Repentance.
After this day of prayer, there was an amazing change of
circumstances, with successes on the battlefield and the reaping of abundant
harvests. There was, in fact, such a turnaround
after this that in 1779 Congress issued a proclamation setting aside a
day of thanksgiving, because “it hath pleased Almighty God, the father of
mercies, remarkably to assist and support the United States of America in their
important struggle for liberty” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 124).
The Congress then listed seven
different accomplishments of God on the behalf of the nation,
including “many instances of prowess and success in our armies” and “so great
abundance of the fruits of the earth of every kind, as not only to enable us to
easily to supply the wants of the army, but gives comfort and happiness to the
whole people” (Hyatt, Pilgrims andPatriots, 124).
Washington
Transforms the Colonial Army into a Praying Army
The Second Continental Congress, which convened on May 10, 1775, asked George Washington to become commander-in-chief
of the ragtag colonial militias and transform them into an army that could
face British military might.
Washington accepted the call and began immediately to
instill in the Colonial troops a very real faith in God, for he knew that
without heaven’s assistance they had no hope against the mighty British war
machine.
Washington, therefore, issued an order that each day was
to begin with prayer led by the officers of each unit. He also ordered that, unless their duties required them to be
elsewhere, every soldier was to observe, “a punctual attendance of Divine
services, to implore the blessing of heaven upon the means used for our safety
and public defense” (
He also forbade all profanity and drunkenness and
promised swift punishment for any who uttered oaths that would offend God or
man.
Washington
continually sought to instill in his troops faith and reverence toward God.
While the colonial army was quartering at Valley
Forge, during a particularly difficult part of the war, Rev. Henry Muhlenberg was able to observe
Washington’s conduct from his nearby Lutheran Church. He wrote,
“Washington rode around among his army yesterday and admonished each one to
fear God” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots,
129).
Washington’s
Farewell Prayer
The
many prayers of colonial America were heard and the Revolutionary War came to
an amazing end. It officially ended on October 19, 1781, when General
Cornwallis surrendered his entire force to Washington. In customary fashion,
Cornwallis turned his sword over to Washington, and the weaponry of his troops
was stacked in neat piles.
As
this occurred the British band played, “The World Turned Upside Down.” For
freedom-loving people everywhere, however, the world had been turned right side
up.
Showing the influence of Christianity on the American
populace and their leaders, there was none of the revenge and butchery that are
so common in Marxist and Islamic revolutions. There were no tribunals to exact
revenge, no reign of terror, and no bloodthirsty proclamations by the
Continental Congress. The war ended and the patriots picked up their lives and
moved on.
Having completed his call, Washington issued a letter of
resignation as Commander-in-Chief to the Continental Congress. Then, he wrote
what could be described as a pastoral letter, dated June 14, 1783, to the
governors of the various states. This letter
included his “earnest prayer” that is here quoted in part. He wrote,
I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you,
and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would
incline the hearts of the citizens . . . to entertain a brotherly affection and
love for one another . . . and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility,
and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author
of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of His example in these
things, we can never hope to be a happy nation (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 134).
It is worth noting that the day after approving the First
Amendment, which states that “Congress shall make no law concerning the
establishment of religion or hindering the free exercise thereof,” those same
delegates issued a proclamation for a day of prayer and thanksgiving.
This shows that the First Amendment had nothing to do
with banning expressions of faith from the public square, but was merely saying
that America would never have an official, government-run church as was the
case with the nations of Europe at that time.
Our
Response
Every true American should applaud Donald Trump for his
Day of Prayer proclamation. It was the American thing to do at this time of
crisis.
And seeing the vital role of prayer in the founding of
this nation, let us not be intimidated by the modern assertion that prayer is somehow
inappropriate for public or political venues. Let us be bold in our faith. Let
us be salt and light in this generation. Let us pray. It is the godly thing to
do! It is the American thing to do!
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's book, Pilgrims and Patriots, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. Dr. Hyatt believes that another Great Awakening is coming to America. You can read about his vision by visiting his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.
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