Participate in National Day of Prayer on May 5

I like history, particularly American history. I’m fascinated by the brave, heroic and godly men that have served this country in the office of the President of the United States. I have lived under the administration of twelve of the men honored as President of this great country. Each brought to the highest office of our land their strengths and weaknesses. Some were called upon to serve and lead when our nation faced uncertain and unrelenting peril; they did it with humility, wisdom and a deep sense of their desperate need for Divine intervention and direction.

When Robert E. Lee led his army of seventy-six thousand men into Pennsylvania, President Lincoln remained steadfast in his faith in the Almighty. He explained to one of his generals, who had been wounded at Gettysburg, with the following, “when everyone seemed panic-stricken, I went to my room, got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed, soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into His own hands.”

Lincoln has not been the only President to express his and the nation’s dependence on God Almighty, but he does stand out in his very clear and verbally communicated trust in God’s involvement in the affairs of our nation. In response to the request of the Senate of the United States, Lincoln proclaimed Thursday, April 30th, 1863, “as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.” He further requested that citizens abstain from their normal secular pursuits and that “the united cry of the nation will be heard” by God and answered with the blessing of pardon for our national sins. 

Subsequently, the U.S. Senate bill S 1378 became public law 100-307, setting the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. It was signed into law by President Reagan on May 5, 1988. Participating in this year’s National Day of Prayer, pastors from our County churches will once again conduct a prayer gathering on the Lake County Court House lawn over the noon hour on May 5, 2016.        

 -Harvey A. Town