Capitol Hill becomes holy ground

Simply amazing!

Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) gave the Azusa Pacific University Choir a tour of the United States Capitol on the 2012 National Day of Prayer. The choir preformed a beautiful rendition of Holy, Holy, Holy in the Capitol Rotunda.

A day of many celebrations, but the Resurrection still trumps them all

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that this year's National Day of Prayer (which is today) caught me a little off guard. I suppose the main reason is that, due to job commitments, I have not been quite as active with community ministry organizations over the past year. Still, I recall that last year's observance came with a great deal of advance fanfare (much of it negative). This year, however, the only news of any consequence was last month's ruling by a federal appeals court overturning a decision by a dimwit judge who had declared the observance unconstitutional. Other than that, the day seems to have come (and gone) rather quietly (although the press, predictably, tried to create controversy where there was none) with local ceremonies around the nation proceeding as normal.

Of course, the national euphoria surrounding the demise of Osama bin Laden and President Obama's long overdue visit to Ground Zero may have overshadowed this year's observance. Also, coinciding with the celebration of Cinco de Mayo wasn't exactly helpful. But I would like to think the main reason for this year's National Day of Prayer coming and going so quietly was its close proximity to Easter, the highest holy day of the Christian year. Righteousness indeed exalts a nation, and a day set aside for crying out to God on behalf of the nation and its leaders will always have a certain significance, even if only symbolic. But for Christians in America, who have always been (and likely always will be) the main advocates for and participants in the National Day of Prayer, the real celebration is that of our Lord's victory over death and, still only a little over two weeks removed from Resurrection Day, most of us are still in celebration mode, or at least should be.

So, whether it's the National Day of Prayer, Cinco de Mayo, or Ground Zero, today has been a day of many celebrations. But the Resurrection still trumps them all.

Christ is risen!

He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

A kingdom perspective on the recent ruckus over the National Day of Prayer

Franklin Graham was not the only evangelical leader "disinvited" from a government-sponsored National Day of Prayer event last week. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was also booted from an event at Andrews Air Force Base for committing the unpardonable sin of criticizing Obama's plan to overturn the military's policy of prohibiting openly "gay" soldiers. Also clouding the annual observance was an ill-informed decision by a Carter-appointed federal judge declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.

Such exhibitions of government stupidity and incompetence are cause for concern, but, as Gary DeMar observes, not for the reasons being suggested by some of the principles involved in the recent ruckus.

Now here comes the fly in the ointment. James Dobson had Perkins and Graham, as well as Alan Sears of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), on his May 6, 2010 radio show to discuss these anti-Christian measures coming from our government. One thing concerned me. Both Dobson and Graham saw prophetic significance in these events. They were claiming that the return of Jesus must be around the corner. How could it be otherwise? I was thankful that Perkins and Sears did not join in the end-time speculation.

Christians could turn this nation around in less than a year if they had the will to do it. But with big-name evangelicals telling them the end must be near, why bother. The early church had fewer hopeful examples of continued growth with the death of Stephen at the hands of the Jews (Acts 7:54–60) and the death of James the brother of John by the local tyrant Herod (Acts 12:2). At the end of John’s Gospel, Jesus tells Peter that he is going to be martyred (John 21:18–19). The book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest (Acts 28:30). Paul sums up what life was like for him as a disciple of Jesus Christ, a turn-coat Jew, and later as an enemy of the Empire:

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure (2 Cor. 11;22–27).

Then there was the expansive nature of the Roman Empire and the coming persecutions of Christians by Nero. Consider Paul’s words to the young pastor Timothy:

“Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:10–12).

According to Paul, who’s on the losing side? “But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also” (v. 9). If the enemies of the gospel do make progress, it’s because we let them, through indifference, disobedience, and escapism. It doesn’t help that prophecy pundits are claiming eschatological certainty that our generation will see the “rapture” because all the signs point to the supposed (but fictional) glorious event. The church needs to grow up, gain some historical perspective, and study the Bible through its own interpretive lens rather than the lens of the Scofield Reference Bible, Left Behind, or any prophetic system that does not pay attention to the time texts, first audience relevance, context, and the Bible’s own way of making its points. Yes, Paul would die at the hands of the Romans, but notice how Luke ends his book: “And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered” (Acts 28:30–31). Paul wasn’t preaching the any-moment rapture; he was preaching the kingdom of God!

American evangelical leaders have the unfortunate tendency to read "prophetic significance" (i.e. "the end is near") into every real or perceived slight which places them outside the realm of this-worldly political power. That may just be a polite way of saying they tend to whine every time they are removed from the place of honor at the great banquet table of civil religion. There is a certain degree of smugness in the myopic view that the plight of Christians in America is some kind of unique indicator of the relative imminence of Christ's return. The current climate of official hostility toward public expressions of the faith is deplorable and contrary to the founding principles of the nation. But it is not to be compared with the life and death struggle faced daily by believers in Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, and numerous other countries living under the shadow of Islam and other false religions. Ironically, the church is growing and the kingdom of God advancing most rapidly in those countries where outright persecution is a fact of everyday life, not just an occasional annoyance.

Meaningless court decision fails to stop National Day of Prayer

I would like to have been able to participate more in our local festivities for the National Day of Prayer today. I attended a prayer breakfast, but was not able to attend the noon gathering at the statehouse. But it is encouraging to see that events nationwide indicate a continued robust observance of the day, despite a recent meaningless court ruling, an outrageous disinvitation by the Pentagon, and tepid support from the current occupant of the White House.

For years, the annual National Day of Prayer observances on Capitol Hill had become almost routine affairs as mostly conservative Christian groups bowed with legislators to pray for the soul of America.

But this year, after a federal judge ruled the law creating the day is unconstitutional, Thursday's events took on an air of defiance as organizers accused nonbelievers of threatening their religious freedom.

"I think it is waking people up across this land," said evangelist Franklin Graham, the honorary chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, who was disinvited from Pentagon observances because of his remarks on Islam.

"I think people realize, many Christians, how we're losing our religious freedoms a little bit every day and if we don't stand up and exercise the freedoms that God has given us in this country, we will lose them."

Graham began the day praying on the sidewalk outside the Pentagon, after military officials withdrew his invitation to speak because his comments about Islam -- he's called it an "evil and wicked religion" -- were "problematic."

Across the country Thursday, organizers said more than 40,000 events were scheduled to be held at parks, churches and courthouse steps -- more than any other year and an increase of more than 15 percent from last year.

Shirley Dobson, leader of the task force and the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, noted that the nationwide observances are voluntary.

"Citizens can choose to pray or not to pray," she said. "No one is required to participate, despite what the opponents of public prayer say."

She was thankful that the Obama administration is appealing the April 15 decision by Wisconsin federal judge Barbara Crabb -- who ruled observances could continue as her decision is appealed. Dobson said the Pentagon's rescinded invitation was "dishonoring" to Graham and his son, Edward, an Army captain now serving in Afghanistan.

"This situation that's come up the last several weeks serves as yet another indication of the relentless assaults against our religious liberty," she said.

After winning the first legal round, the Freedom from Religion Foundation urged mayors and governors not to endorse the National Day of Prayer this year. It also placed billboards in Colorado Springs, Colo., home to the prayer day task force's headquarters, declaring "God & Government a Dangerous Mix: Keep State & Church Separate."

In his keynote address at the Cannon House Office Building, Graham acknowledged that people "of other faiths" might hear his message but he could only speak as a "minister of the gospel."

"I don't want to be offensive to anyone," he said, "but I only know how to pray and I only know how to preach the way that the Bible instructs me."

Graham said the nation has "committed mass murder" through abortions and "taken God out of our schools." He predicted God's judgment on the country and its citizens for not living up to divine standards.

"I'm guilty; our nation is guilty," he said. "But our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ."
The printed program called for "executive branch remarks," but no representative of the White House spoke. The audience of about 400 prayed for the White House, turning in its direction down Pennsylvania Avenue and reaching out their hands in prayer.

"I thank you that President Obama has issued a proclamation, a powerful proclamation for this day of prayer," said Dave Butts, president of Harvest Prayer Ministries of Terre Haute, Ind. "I thank you, Lord, that he is instructing the Justice Department to take a stand against this judicial ruling that would declare this day unconstitutional."

While Obama issued a proclamation-- as he did last year -- he has not continued the tradition of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who held an observance at the White House with task force leaders during his presidency.

"Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the nation," Obama said in his proclamation.

The annual observance is personal for the Graham family. Ailing evangelist Billy Graham encouraged Congress to enact a law about the prayer day when he held a crusade in Washington in 1952. Congress passed the law later that year and, in 1988, made it more specific, calling for it to be marked on the first Thursday of May.

On Capitol Hill, some attendees said the court ruling made it more important for them to attend this year's observance.

"I think that a lot of people believe that our Christian heritage is under siege," said Barry Blenis, a banker and Baptist from Albany, N.Y. "This country was established for freedom of religion, primarily Christian religion and now it's like the minority, 3 or 4 percent is saying `Well, I'm offended' so you can't do this or do that."

The most effective way to render a judge's decision meaningless

The National Day of Prayer has been ruled "unconstitutional" by a Jimmy Carter-appointed federal judge. This is a meaningless decision and should be treated as such.

The particular statute ruled "unconstitutional" is a 1988 federal law which gives the President of the United States the authority to designate the first Thursday in May as a national day of prayer. In actuality, proclamations calling for a national day of prayer predate the founding of the United States. The first such proclamation was issued by the Continental Congress in 1775. George Washington began the tradition of presidential proclamations which all of his successors have continued. A Joint Resolution of Congress, signed by President Harry Truman in 1952, made the National Day of Prayer "official" and the 1988 statute now in question simply amended the law so as to make the official annual observance on the first Thursday in May. One judge's opinion is not going to change the facts of history or the tradition that has grown up around the National Day of Prayer. Public observances will continue this year and for years to come, with or without a federal statute giving them official government recognition.

Last year, President Obama, in a break with tradition, cancelled the National Day of Prayer service at the White House. The current chief executive is clearly not a fan of celebrating the nation's religious heritage, so don't hold your breath expecting a vigorous effort on his part to have the ruling overturned. Certainly, a number of religious liberty organizations will continue to fight the good fight all the way, if necessary, to the Supreme Court and such efforts should be supported by Christians and other persons of goodwill. But the most effective response to one judge's historically ignorant and uninformed decision is simply to ignore it and continue not only observing the National Day of Prayer, but also praying every day for our nation and its leaders, whether those leaders appreciate our prayers or not. In fact, the best response to a president who does not appreciate the importance of prayer is to pray for the president.

National Day of Prayer

Whiners Complain About Christian Participation in National Day of Prayer

By an act of Congress signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1952, the first Thursday of May is recognized as the National Day of Prayer. Americans of all faiths are encouraged to set this day aside to pray for the nation and its leaders. But as this year's observance approaches, the voices of discontent are crying out, claiming that one particular faith group, evangelical Christians, has "hijacked" the Day, leaving persons of other faiths excluded from what is supposed to be an expression of national unity.

Jews on First, a 2 1/2-year-old online organization, has questioned the application process for coordinators affiliated with the National Day of Prayer Task Force, which is headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.

While the task force is a private group, it nonetheless gets an unofficial government seal of approval with an annual proclamation by President Bush and prayer ceremonies held at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Jews on First is spearheading an "Inclusive National Day of Prayer" campaign that includes a Web site featuring talking points, sample letters to governors and a list of "alternative inclusive observances."

"The National Day of Prayer has been hijacked!" the group declares on its Web site. "What began as President Truman's declaration of a National Prayer Day for all Americans is now excluding and dividing us on religious lines."

Not surprisingly, the forces of "inclusiveness" have been joined by the usual suspects, such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and several mainline Protestant groups. But for all their histrionics about "division" and "hijacking," these whiners are the ones doing the dividing and hijacking. The web site of the National Day of Prayer Task Force makes that organization's mission, vision, and purpose quite clear.

Mission

The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.

Our Vision and Values

In accordance with Biblical truth, the National Day of Prayer Task Force seeks to:

Foster unity within the Christian Church

Protect America's Constitutional Freedoms to gather, worship, pray and speak freely.

Publicize and preserve America's Christian heritage

Encourage and emphasize prayer, regardless of current issues and positions

Respect all people, regardless of denomination or creed

Be wise stewards of God's resources and provision

Glorify the Lord in word and deed

Who We Are and What We Do

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose it is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America's leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.

Official Policy Statement on Participation of "Non-Judeo-Christian" groups in the National Day of Prayer:

The National Day of Prayer Task Force was a creation of the National Prayer Committee for the expressed purpose of organizing and promoting prayer observances conforming to a Judeo-Christian system of values. People with other theological and philosophical views are, of course, free to organize and participate in activities that are consistent with their own beliefs. This diversity is what Congress intended when it designated the Day of Prayer, not that every faith and creed would be homogenized, but that all who sought to pray for this nation would be encouraged to do so in any way deemed appropriate. It is that broad invitation to the American people that led, in our case, to the creation of the Task Force and the Judeo-Christian principles on which it is based.

The Task Force makes no secret of its Christian affiliation. It exists to encourage Christians to participate in the National Day of Prayer and provides them with resources for participating in ways appropriate to their faith. Moreover, it encourages persons of other faiths to find appropriate ways to participate, as well. It should go without saying that the Christians who make up the National Day of Prayer Task Force would welcome the formation of similar organizations to encourage the participation of persons of other faiths in ways appropriate to those faiths.

What is discouraging (not to mention divisive) is the fact that organizations like Jews on First and Americans United do not appear to be working toward finding appropriate ways for non-evangelicals and non-Christians to participate in the National Day of Prayer. Rather, they appear to be deriding and impugning the way in which members of the Christian community have chosen to come together to pray for their nation.