[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 25531-25532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11070]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 87 / Thursday, May 5, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 25531]]


                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.

[[Page 25532]]

                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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-11070
Filed 5-4-11; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P