Whether or not a “day of prayer” is nationally recognized by today’s “leaders”, it will always be A WAY OF LIFE for those that truly understand the beginnings of this nation and the favor and grace that have been bestowed to this great nation by our loving Father and Creator.  Prayer is the language that the Lord has blessed His people with to communicate and to receive guidance and wisdom.  The fact that this nation is questioning one day of recognizing the importance of prayer shows us that WE THE PEOPLE need to stand strong in these days and pray for our nation and leaders EVERY DAY!

Let us reflect on some of the days and  words from our founding fathers in regards to the importance of prayer and this nation:

April 15, 1775 John Hancock: A Day of Pubic Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer

“…to confess the sins…to implore the Forgiveness of all our Transgressions…and a blessing on the Husbandry, Manufactures, and other lawful Employments of this People; and especially that the union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights (for hitherto we desire to thank Almighty GOD) may be preserved and confirmed….And that AMERICA may soon behold a gracious Interposition of Heaven.”

March 16th, 1776 Continental Congress: Appointed Day of Fasting and Prayer for Colonies

“The Congress….Desirous…to have people of all ranks and degrees duly impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence, and of their duty, devoutly to rely…on his aid and direction…”

July 9, 1776 Continental Congress: Ringing of the “Liberty Bell” to establish prayer as a daily part of the new nation.

IT’S TIME TO RING THE BELL AGAIN!!!

March 6th 1799 President John Adams: Day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer

“That they call to mind our numerous offenses against the most high God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore his pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgressions, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to his righteous requisitions in time to come.”

October 18th, 1780 Continental Congress: Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer

“That all the people may assemble on that day to celebrate the praises of our Divine Benefactor; to confess our unworthiness of the least of his favours, and to offer our fervent supplications to the God of all grace…to cause the knowledge of Christianity to spread over all the earth.”

March 4, 1805 Thomas Jefferson: A National Prayer for Peace

“…Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way.  Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitude brought hither out of many kindred’s and tongues.  Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those to whom in Thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.  In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.”

September 26, 1861 Abraham Lincoln: National Day of Prayer and Fasting

“…It is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals, to humble ourselves before Him and to pray for His mercy…that the inestimable boon of civil and religious liberty, earned under His guidance and blessing by the labors and sufferings of our fathers, may be restored.”

March 30, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation Appointing a National Fast day

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven.  We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity.  We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.  But we have forgotten God.  We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!”

January 25, 1988 Congress of United States: National Day of Prayer

“Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step-humble, heartfelt prayer.  Let us do so for the Love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our Nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always.” President Reagan

“From General Washington’s struggle at Valley Forge to the present, this Nation has fervently sought and received divine guidance as it pursued the course of history. This occasion provides our Nation with an opportunity to further recognize the source of our blessings, and to seek His help for the challenges we face today and in the future.” President Reagan

We have been called to these days, FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS! May the wrongs of this nation drive us to our knees in prayer for the Will of the Father to be established here on earth as it is in heaven.  One voice, one heart, one spirit; crying out to the Father for His LOVE to breakout and for His LIGHT to breakthrough!

Thanks for reading,

Patrick Judah

p.s. Other related articles:

http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000066807

http://blog.ihop.org/general/national-day-of-prayer-opening-letter-from-mike-bickle-lou-engle-brian-kim/

http://nationaldayofprayer.org/ , http://nationaldayofprayer.org/about/history/

Sources: America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia Of Quotations, Wikipedia

So here’s a brief overview of Lincoln’s beginnings: Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in a one room log cabin in Kentucky, Illinois. His parents, Thomas and Nancy, were farmers.  His mother passed away when he was nine and shortly after his father remarried. Lincoln was known for his height, telling stories, wrestling, and wielding an axe. But in search for something greater he ended up leaving home at 22.  Lincoln got his share of odd jobs and was even the Captain of a voluntary company in the Black Hawk war.  Things started to look up for Lincoln as he was elected to the state legislature in 1834 and soon after he received his license to practice law. By 1838 he was elected for the third time to the legislature.  Did I mention that he only had 18 months of schooling?

Then by 1842 Abraham Lincoln was married to Mary Todd.  They had four children: Robert, Edward, William, and Thomas. Unfortunately Robert was the only child to live to adulthood.  It was said that Abraham loved children, and the loss of his sons was very hard for him to endure.  Abraham Lincoln was elected as the Unites States President in 1860 and inaugurated March 4^th 1861, thus the beginning of the Civil War. President Lincoln was re-elected for a second term in 1864 and the war ended April 9, 1865.  Of course 5 days after the freeing of millions of slaves, Lincoln was assassinated in Ford’s Theater.

So now that you have a rough background of our 16^th President, I would like to share some quotes from him that he addressed, that I believe still stand true today!

First I would like to state that Lincoln was voted in as President in a time when slavery was huge in the US and it was considered “normal”.  Lincoln’s stance from the beginning was strongly against slavery and yet he was still elected President.  I do believe God had raised him up for this time in history.  Lincoln was uneducated and a very unlikely candidate, with a message that angered many men.  His whole time in office was challenged with the Civil War, and yet he did not back down on his beliefs.  Because of his moral stance, he was able to weather the storm and live to see the day of the freeing of millions of slaves!

In a speech at Edwardsville, Illinois:

“Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them.  Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you.”

Regardless of what some might say it obvious that Abraham Lincoln was a man of Faith who put His trust in the Lord.  Here are some words exchanged from Lincoln to his pastor, Rev. Byron Sunderland:

“ The ways of God are mysterious and profound beyond all comprehension-“Who by searching can find Him out?”  God only knows the issue of this business.  He has destroyed nations from the map of history for their sins.  Nevertheless, my hopes prevail generally above my fears for our Republic.  The times are dark, the spirits of ruin are abroad in all their power, and the mercy of God alone can save us.”

On March 30, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued a historic Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day:

“It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord…”

I know that today, in America, there is a new breed of slavery that has been rising up.  It has been creeping its way into many US cities.  This is a business for many men and has become a way of life for many innocent women.  It is known as HUMAN TRAFFICKING.  From the past shared here through the story of Lincoln, we know how horrific this issue of slavery can be on a nation.  Lincoln even stated that the Civil War was a punishment in itself for the sins of the nation.  He said, “And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?”

Thankfully there has been a move against this “modern day slavery” that has brought awareness to our nation and others.  But we the people need to take the stand and hold our ground until we see the freeing of millions of those that have been bought into human trafficking.  How can you help? I think Lincoln had it right by declaring a day of fasting and praying, so let’s start there. Then you can know the truth, take action, and raise awareness.

Here are some websites you can go to, to learn more about HUMAN TRAFFICKING

http://www.exoduscry.com/

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

For those of you that have more information on this issue of HUMAN TRAFFICKING please share!

(sources:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Abraham_Lincoln.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln

America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations)

Thank you for reading!

Patrick Judah