{"id":530,"date":"2011-04-20T07:04:08","date_gmt":"2011-04-20T11:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/activistfaith\/?p=530"},"modified":"2011-04-20T09:18:09","modified_gmt":"2011-04-20T13:18:09","slug":"national-day-of-prayer-is-constitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2011\/04\/national-day-of-prayer-is-constitutional.html","title":{"rendered":"National Day of Prayer IS Constitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>My friends at the Presidential Prayer Team<\/a> sent me this encouraging update yesterday:<\/p>\n

Well, it’s official. America’s National Day of Prayer<\/a> is indeed<\/em> constitutional.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled unanimously that the National Day of Prayer<\/a> — established by Congress in 1952 and in 1988 set as the first Thursday in May — does not constitute a violation of the separation of church and state.<\/p>\n

The ruling deemed powerless a lawsuit brought by a group of atheists and agnostics called the Freedom From Religion Foundation … and overturned a ruling last April by federal judge Barbara Crabb that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

By law, the president must proclaim a national day of prayer every year — and despite Crabb’s ruling President Obama, in his 2010 National Day of Prayer proclamation last year, said:<\/p>\n

“In prayer, we have expressed gratitude and humility, sought guidance and forgiveness, and received inspiration and assistance, both in good times and in bad.”<\/em><\/strong> Obama called on Americans to “pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This year will once again continue a National Day of Prayer<\/a>. For Christians, it is our privilege and responsibility to pray on behalf of our nation. Let us not look at this announcement as simply a victory, but a reminder of our call to intercede for our nation and its leaders.<\/p>\n

I’m looking forward to this year’s National Day of Prayer<\/a>, but I’m not waiting until then to pray for our nation. I hope you won’t either. Let’s continue to ask God for his wisdom and strength today for our country, its leaders, and all those who serve this land we call America.<\/p>\n

For more about the National Day of Prayer, see the official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more about the Presidential Prayer Team, see their official website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

DILLON BURROUGHS<\/strong> is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Undefending Christianity<\/em><\/a>, Not in My Town<\/em><\/a> (with Charles J. Powell), and Thirst No More<\/em> (October). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My friends at the Presidential Prayer Team sent me this encouraging update yesterday: Well, it’s official. America’s National Day of Prayer is indeed constitutional. Last week, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled unanimously that the National Day of Prayer — established by Congress in 1952 and in 1988 set as the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5,13,12],"tags":[16,14,76,77],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church-in-action","category-faith","category-worldview","tag-activist-faith","tag-dillon-burroughs","tag-national-day-of-prayer","tag-presidential-prayer-team"],"yoast_head":"\nNational Day of Prayer IS Constitutional - Activist Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2011\/04\/national-day-of-prayer-is-constitutional.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National Day of Prayer IS Constitutional - Activist Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My friends at the Presidential Prayer Team sent me this encouraging update yesterday: Well, it’s official. 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