A Day of Prayer for the rest of us.
May 6 is National Day of Prayer in the US and I have mixed feelings and a few suggestions.
“The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked “to turn to God in prayer and meditation”. The president is required by law (36 U.S.C. § 119) to sign a proclamation each year, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.” (Wikipedia) Its roots go back to colonial days, when John Hancock, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson encouraged the public to fast and pray — even for self-governance.
In 1952, President Truman signed a bill proclaiming that a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each subsequent president on the date of their choice. Lots of Presidents, including Reagan and Bush, held events at the White House to mark the day during their terms. In 1988, the law was amended to establish the first Thursday of May as a day of prayer. It’s intended to be a day when the faithful could unite in prayer, and that it “may one day bring renewed respect for God to all the peoples of the world.” (Wiki again.)
But wait: does that kind of imply that somebody’s godless? That peoples of the world don’t respect capital G-o-d as they “should?”
