[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 131, 115th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9605 of May 4, 2017

National Day of Prayer, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

We come together on our National Day of Prayer as one Nation, under God,
to show gratitude for our many blessings, to give thanks for His
providence, and to ask for His continued wisdom, strength, and
protection as we chart a course for the future. We are united in prayer,
each according to our own faith and tradition, and we believe that in
America, people of all faiths, creeds, and religions must be free to
exercise their natural right to worship according to their consciences.
We are also reminded and reaffirm that all human beings have the right,
not only to pray and worship according to their consciences, but to
practice their faith in their homes, schools, charities, and
businesses--in private and in the public square--free from government
coercion, discrimination, or persecution. Religion is not merely an
intellectual exercise, but also a practical one that demands action in
the world. Even the many prisoners around the world who are persecuted
for their faith can pray privately in their cells. But our Constitution
demands more: the freedom to practice one's faith publicly.
The religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution is not a favor from
the government, but a natural right bestowed by God. Our Constitution
and our laws that protect religious freedom merely recognize the right
that all people have by virtue of their humanity. As Thomas Jefferson
wisely questioned: ``can the liberties of a nation be thought secure
when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of
the people that these liberties are the gift of God?''
In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a day of public
thanksgiving and prayer, calling upon Americans to ``unite in most

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humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and
Ruler of Nations.'' In 1988, the Congress, by Public Law 100-307, called
on the President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first
Thursday in May as a ``National Day of Prayer.'' On this National Day of
Prayer, the right to pray freely and live according to one's faith is
under threat around the world from coercive governments and terrorist
organizations. We therefore pray especially for the many people around
the world who are persecuted for their beliefs and deprived of their
fundamental liberty to live according to their conscience. We pray for
the triumph of freedom over oppression, and for God's love and mercy
over evil.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 of America, do hereby proclaim May 4,
2017, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite the citizens of our Nation
to pray, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, in
thanksgiving for the freedoms and blessings we have received, and for
God's guidance and continued protection as we meet the challenges before
us.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of May,
in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
DONALD J. TRUMP