Day of Prayer

Please find below a portion of that decree.

Whereas, we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest man-made environmental disaster in our history; and

Whereas, it is our heritage that as a people we have been taught not only to publicly acknowledge God for the many blessings bestowed on us but also that we are to turn to Him and seek His aid and assistance in times of distress and calamity; and

President Ronald Reagan affirmed not only that "Prayer is the mainspring of the American spirit, a fundamental tenet of our people since before the Republic was founded" but also that "Prayer is today as powerful a force in our Nation as it has ever been. We as a Nation should never forget this source of strength";

President Reagan reminded us that we "have always turned to prayer at times of crisis. We recall the moving story of George Washington kneeling in the snow at Valley Forge to ask for divine assistance when the fate of our fledgling Nation hung in the balance. And Abraham Lincoln tells us that on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, 'I went into my room and got down on my knees in prayer.' Never before, he added, had he prayed 'with as much earnestness"; and

President James Buchanan reminded citizens: "In this the hour of our calamity and peril, to Whom shall we resort for relief but to the God of our fathers? His omnipotent arm only can save us from the awful effects . . . let our fervent prayers ascend to His Throne."

President John Tyler said that "When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dispensation of Divine Providence, to recognize His righteous government over the children of men, to acknowledge His goodness in time past, as well as their own unworthiness, and to supplicate His merciful protection for the future";

. . . . . The Continental Congress declared that "in the hour of calamity and impending danger . . . we are peculiarly animated, with true penitence of heart, to prostrate ourselves before our great Creator and fervently to supplicate His gracious interposition for our deliverance"

I therefore call a Day of Prayer, urging citizens to pray comfort on the families of those killed in the initial blast; that God would crown with success efforts to stem the flow of escaping oil; that He would interpose to mitigate further damage and strengthen the hands of clean up crews; that He would sustain those whose livelihood is directly impacted by this tragedy; that He would preserve the health of citizens along the coastal regions; that He would comfort the minds of all citizens, reminding us that He is a strong refuge in times of trouble; that He would guide the counsels of our civil leaders and provide them with wisdom and Divinely inspired solutions to the many complex problems associated with this disaster; and that He would prevent future recurrences.