[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 16 (Monday, April 21, 1997)]
[Pages 547-548]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6991--National Day of Prayer, 1997

April 18, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    America was born out of intense conflict as our forefathers fought 
the forces of oppression and tyranny. From our earliest history, 
Americans have always looked to God for strength and encouragement in 
those moments when darkness seemed to encroach from every side. Our 
people have always believed in the power of prayer and have called upon 
the name of the Lord through times of peace and war, hope and despair, 
prosperity and decline.
    In his first inaugural address, during the rush of optimism that 
followed the Colonies' uplifting victory in the American Revolution, 
George Washington observed that ``it would be peculiarly improper to 
omit, in this first official act my fervent supplications to that 
Almighty Being who rules over the universe.'' Amid the bleak turmoil of 
the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln conveyed similar sentiments by calling 
Americans to ``a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this 
favored land.'' Almost a century later, Harry Truman emphasized the need 
for God's help in making decisions: ``when we are striving to strengthen 
the foundation of peace and security we stand in special need of divine 
support.''
    Indeed, the familiar phrase ``In God we trust,'' which has been our 
national motto for more than 40 years and which first appeared on our 
coinage during the Civil War, is a fitting testimony to the prayers 
offered up by American women and men through the centuries. Today within 
our Nation's Capitol Building, a stained glass window depicts General 
Washington humbly kneeling and repeating the words of the 16th Psalm, 
``Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.''
    As we face the last years of the 20th century, let us uphold the 
tradition of observing a day in which every American, in his or her own 
way, may come before God seeking increased peace, guidance, and wisdom 
for the challenges ahead. Even as we continue to work toward hopeful 
solutions, may our national resolve be matched by a firm reliance on the 
Author of our lives--for truly it is in God that we trust.
    The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, has called our citizens to 
reaffirm annually our dependence on Almighty God by recognizing a 
``National Day of Prayer.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 1997, as a National Day of 
Prayer. As in previous years, let us once again celebrate this day in 
the tradition of our Founders by humbly asking for divine help in 
maintaining the courage, determination, faith, and vigilance so 
necessary to our continued advancement as a people. On this National Day 
of Prayer, may all Americans come together to reaffirm our reliance upon 
our Creator, and, in the words of Franklin Roosevelt, to ``pray to Him 
now for the vision to see our way clearly.''
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:26 a.m., April 21, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 22.

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