National Day of Prayer, 2011

Proclamation of 8667 of April 29, 2011

National Day of Prayer, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Throughout our history, Americans have turned to prayer
for strength, inspiration, and solidarity.

Prayer has played an important role in the American
story and in shaping our Nation's leaders. President
Abraham Lincoln once said, ``I have been driven many
times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that
I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all
about me seemed insufficient for the day.'' The late
Coretta Scott King recounted a particularly difficult
night, during the Montgomery bus boycott, when her
husband, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
received a threatening phone call and prayed at the
kitchen table, saying, ``Lord, I have nothing left. I
have nothing left. I have come to the point where I
can't face it alone.'' Dr. King said, in that moment of
prayer, he was filled with a sense of comfort and
resolve, which his wife credited as a turning point in
the civil rights movement.

It is thus fitting that, from the earliest years of our
country's history, Congress and Presidents have set
aside days to recognize the role prayer has played in
so many definitive moments in our history. On this
National Day of Prayer, let us follow the example of
President Lincoln and Dr. King. Let us be thankful for
the liberty that allows people of all faiths to worship
or not worship according to the dictates of their
conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other
freedoms and blessings that we often take for granted.

Let us pray for the men and women of our Armed Forces
and the many selfless sacrifices they and their
families make on behalf of our Nation. Let us pray for
the police officers, firefighters, and other first
responders who put themselves in harm's way every day
to protect their fellow citizens. And let us ask God
for the sustenance and guidance for all of us to meet
the great challenges we face as a Nation.

Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those who
have been affected by natural disasters at home and
abroad in recent months, as well as those working
tirelessly to render assistance. And, at a time when
many around the world face uncertainty and unrest, but
also hold resurgent hope for freedom and justice, let
our prayers be with men and women everywhere who seek
peace, human dignity, and the same rights we treasure
here in America.

The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has
called on the President to issue each year a
proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a
``National Day of Prayer.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 5,
2011, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite all
citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or
conscience directs them, to join me in giving thanks
for the many blessings we enjoy, and I ask all people
of faith to join me in asking God for guidance, mercy,
and protection for our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.