    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 9117--APR. 30, 2014

    Proclamation 9117 of April 30, 2014

    National Day of Prayer, 2014

    By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    One of our Nation's great strengths is the freedom we hold dear,
    including the freedom to exercise our faiths freely. For many Americans,
    prayer is an essential act of worship and a daily discipline.
    Today and every day, prayers will be said for comfort for those who
    mourn, healing for those who are sick, protection for those who are in
    harm's way, and strength for those who lead. Today and every day,
    forgiveness and reconciliation will be sought through prayer. Across our
    country, Americans give thanks for our many blessings, including the
    freedom to pray as our consciences dictate.
    As we give thanks for our liberties, we must never forget those around
    the world, including Americans, who are being held or persecuted because
    of their convictions. Let us remember all prisoners of conscience today,
    whatever their faiths or beliefs and wherever they are held. Let us
    continue to take every action within our power to secure their release.
    And let us carry forward our Nation's tradition of religious liberty,
    which protects Americans' rights to pray and to practice our faiths as
    we see fit.
    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, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2014, as a
    National Day of Prayer. I invite the citizens of our Nation to give
    thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our
    many freedoms and blessings, and I join all people of faith in asking
    for God's continued guidance, mercy, and protection as we seek a more
    just world.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of
    April, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of

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    the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
    thirty-eighth.
    BARACK OBAMA