,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #edg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,april #h1 #bjad    
,mr4 ,forbes 7for himself1 ,mr4         
,mc,intyre1 ,mr4 ,al ,green of ,texas1  
,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,aderholt1 and ,mr4  
,lankford7 submitted the following      
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,oversight and ,government
 ,reform  ,,resolution  ,affirming the  
vital role that prayer has played       
throughout the more than #bjj-year      
history of our ,nation1 strengthening   
the fabric of our society1 and          
recognizing ,may #a1 #bjad1 as the #fcrd
 annual ,national ,day of ,prayer4      
,whereas the first act of ,america's    
first ,congress in #aggd was to ask a   
minister to open with prayer and to lead
 ,congress in the reading of four       
chapters of the ,bible2 ,whereas in     
#aghi1 on the same day that ,congress   
finished drafting the ,first ,amendment1
 it requested ,president ,washington to 
declare a ,national day of prayer and   

thanksgiving1 resulting in the first    
,federal official ,thanksgiving         
proclamation2 ,whereas the ,nation has a
 long history of turning to prayer both 
in times of crisis and in times of      
thanksgiving1 including over #acj       
national calls to prayer by the         
,president of the ,united ,states since 
#aghi1 including--  7#a7 ,president     
,washington's ,thanksgiving             
,proclamation of ,october #c1 #aghi1    
8,it is the duty of all ,nations to     
acknowledge the providence of ,almighty 
,god1 to obey ,his will1 to be grateful 
for ,his benefits1 and humbly to implore
 ,his protection and favor--and whereas 
both ,houses of ,congress have by their 
joint ,committee requested me to        
recommend to the ,people of the ,united 
,states a day of public thanksgiving and
 prayer to be observed by acknowledging 
with grateful hearts the many signal    
favors of ,almighty ,god especially by  
affording them an opportunity peaceably 
to establish a form of government for   

their safety and happiness402  7#b7     
,president ,lincoln's ,proclamation of  
,march #cj1 #ahfc1 8,we have been the   
recipients of the choicest bounties of  
,heaven2 we have been preserved these   
many years in peace and prosperity2 we  
have grown in numbers1 wealth1 and power
 as no other nation has ever grown4 ,but
 we have forgotten ,god4 ,we have       
forgotten the gracious hand which       
preserved us in peace and multiplied and
 enriched and strengthened us1 and we   
have vainly imagined1 in the            
deceitfulness of our hearts1 that all   
these blessings were produced by some   
superior wisdom and virtue of our own4  
,intoxicated with unbroken success1 we  
have become too self-sufficient to feel 
the necessity of redeeming and          
preserving grace1 too proud to pray to  
the ,god that made us4 ,it behooves us1 
then1 to humble ourselves before the    
offended ,power1 to confess our national
 sins1 and to pray for clemency and     
forgiveness402  7#c7 ,president         

,roosevelt's prayer before the ,nation  
on ,d-,day1 ,june #f1 #aidd1 8,many     
people have urged that ,i call the      
,nation into a single day of special    
prayer4 ,but because the road is long   
and the desire is great1 ,i ask that our
 people devote themselves in a          
continuance of prayer4 ,as we rise to   
each new day1 and again when each day is
 spent1 let words of prayer be on our   
lips1 invoking ,thy help to our         
efforts402  7#d7 ,president             
,eisenhower's ,proclamation of ,november
 #ab1 #aief1 8,it is also fitting at    
this season that we should consider     
,god's providence to us throughout our  
entire history4 ,let us remember the    
,pilgrim ,fathers who1 fleeing from     
religious oppression1 landed on a bleak1
 forbidding shore and began to carve out
 what became this great ,republic which 
it is our happy destiny to love and     
serve4 ,for their foresight1 their      
courage1 and their idealism let us give 
thanks to the ,power which has made and 

preserved us a ,nation4 ,humbly aware   
that we are a people greatly blessed1   
both materially and spiritually1 let us 
pray this year not only in the spirit of
 thanksgiving but also as suppliants for
 ,god's guidance1 to the end that we may
 follow the course of righteousness and 
be worthy of ,his favor402  7#e7        
,president ,kennedy's ,national ,day of 
,prayer ,proclamation of ,october #h1   
#aifc1 8,on this day1 let us acknowledge
 anew our reliance upon the divine      
,providence which guided our founding   
fathers4 ,let each of us1 according to  
his own custom and his own faith1 give  
thanks to his ,creator for the divine   
assistance which has nurtured the noble 
ideals in which this ,nation was        
conceived402  7#f7 ,president ,clinton's
 ,national ,day of ,prayer ,proclamation
 of ,april #ah1 #aiig1 8,as we face the 
last years of the #bjth century1 let us 
uphold the tradition of observing a day 
in which every ,american1 in his or her 
own way1 may come before ,god seeking   

increased peace1 guidance1 and wisdom   
for the challenges ahead4 ,even as we   
continue to work toward hopeful         
solutions1 may our national resolve be  
matched by a firm reliance on the       
,author of our lives--for truly it is in
 ,god that we trust402 and  7#g7        
,president ,george ,w4 ,bush's ,national
 ,day of ,prayer and ,remembrance       
,proclamation of ,september #ac1 #bjja1 
8,i call on every ,american family and  
the family of ,america to observe a     
,national ,day of ,prayer and           
,remembrance1 honoring the memory of the
 thousands of victims of these brutal   
attacks and comforting those who lost   
loved ones4 ,we will persevere through  
this national tragedy and personal loss4
 ,in time1 we will find healing and     
recovery2 and1 in the face of all this  
evil1 we remain strong and united1 #8one
 ,nation under ,god4'02  ,whereas the   
act of prayer is both an expression of  
religious belief and an act of speech   
that is protected by the ,first         

,amendment of the ,united ,states       
,constitution2 ,whereas both the ,house 
of ,representatives and ,senate have a  
long tradition of opening their daily   
legislative sessions with prayer2       
,whereas physical evidence of the       
,nation's long tradition of prayer is a 
permanent part of the ,capitol building1
 including a painting in the ,rotunda of
 the pilgrims praying for divine        
protections aboard the ,mayflower before
 they embarked for ,america as the      
word's ,god with us inscribed on a sail 
above their heads2 ,whereas the law     
requires in #cf ,u4,s4,c4  #aai1 8,the  
,president shall issue each year a      
proclamation designating the first      
,thursday in ,may as a ,national ,day of
 ,prayer on which the people of the     
,united ,states may turn to ,god in     
prayer and meditation at churches1 in   
groups1 and as individuals02 and        
,whereas ,may #a1 #bjad1 marks the #fcrd
 annual observance of the ,national ,day
 of ,prayer3 ,now1 therefore1 be it     

,that the ,house of ,representatives--  
7#a7 recognizes the #fcrd annual        
observance of the ,national ,day of     
,prayer2  7#b7 encourages all the people
 of the ,united ,states to come together
 to pray and reaffirm the importance    
prayer has played in the ,nation's      
heritage2 and  7#c7 expresses support   
for the continued recognition each year 
of the ,national ,day of ,prayer1 and of
 the importance that prayer and faith   
have played in the ,nation's history4