President Obama recently proclaimed that May 5th is National Day of Prayer in the United States. But that’s controversial. Why? Last year a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. found that having a government sponsored day of prayer was unconstitutional – you know – separation of church and state, and that sort of thing.
On April 14, 2011 the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling, because of a technicality: the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the group that filed the suit – lacked standing or the legal right to bring the suit.
Do these courts or the Freedom from Religion Foundation represent us? Sure, but only partially, and not all of us. Survey after survey for many years have reported that Americans are believers and pray, some 6 in 10 adults pray on a daily basis, according to the 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. http://religions.pewforum.org/
Personally, I think it’s great that our President prays. We need a leader who loves and worships God. I also think that it’s fine that he wants to have a prayer holiday, or at least a day of recognition. It’s not a law; religious worship isn’t required of citizens, just commemorated. Kind of like Christmas.
I pray constantly, throughout the day. I pray the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” You probably know I’ve devoted many years to making a movie and writing a book about this prayer.
Do YOU pray? What do YOU think about a national day of prayer? PLEASE COMMENT below.
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