Al Everson highlights this week’s annual tradition of petitioning God for the nation
By WEST VOLUSIA BEACON) — In case you care, Thursday, May 4, is the National Day of Prayer.Since 1952, the occasion has become an annual tradition.
Well before President Harry Truman proclaimed a prayer day, Americans sought grace and favor On High during times of great danger. Born out of a revolt against the loss of God-given rights, such days are not new in American history. Our forebears left a rich legacy of calling for divine aid to preserve or restore peace and liberty.
A few examples may suffice:
— On May 24, 1774, months after the Boston Tea Party and the British lockdown of Boston harbor, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed a resolution setting “the first day of June … as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights.”