[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7406]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             59TH CELEBRATION OF OUR NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, today is the 59th celebration of the 
National Day of Prayer.
  Like most Americans, I believe that the effective and fervent prayer 
of a righteous man availeth much, and what is true of individuals is 
also true of nations.
  The truth is that America has always been a Nation of prayer. 
Pilgrims relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our 
Founding Fathers prayed during the Continental Congress in 1776. 
President Lincoln offered his famous proclamation for humility, 
fasting, and prayer at the height of the Civil War, and President 
Truman named the National Day of Prayer in 1952.
  Sadly, voluntary prayer has been under attack of late. It has been 
driven from our public schools and from our graduation ceremonies by 
activist courts. Just last month, a Federal court declared this 
National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional. That ruling ignored our 
history, our traditions, and it should be overturned.
  During these days of challenge for American families at home and 
abroad, on this National Day of Prayer, let it be said now more than 
ever: we are a Nation of prayer.

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