[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 19 (Monday, May 10, 2004)]
[Pages 804-806]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the National Day of Prayer

May 6, 2004

    Thank you all. Please sit down. Please be seated. Thank you all. 
Thanks for coming. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. I'm 
honored to join you at this important annual event.
    Since the Continental Congress sat in Philadelphia, America has, 
from time to time, set aside a national day of prayer. Under a law 
signed by President Ronald Reagan, that day comes every year on the 
first Thursday in May. That would be today. [Laughter]
    Today in our Nation's Capital and around the country, we pause to 
acknowledge our reliance on Almighty God, to join in gratitude for His 
blessings and to seek His guidance in our lives and for our Nation.
    Prayer and songs of praise go together, and we're really thankful 
this afternoon for the beautiful music of the Washington Bach Consort, 
led by J. Reilly Lewis. Thank you all for being here. And we are 
thankful for

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the voice of Beth Cram Porter. I mean, what a voice. [Laughter] Thank 
you.
    We are as grateful as well to all the organizers of the National Day 
of Prayer and especially for the gracious leadership of Shirley Dobson. 
We're also glad you brought Jim with you. [Laughter]
    Colonel Oliver North is the 2004 National Day of Prayer Honorary 
Chairman. Thank you for taking on the job. I appreciate it. I appreciate 
Dr. Barry Black, the Chaplain of the United States Senate. I asked him 
if he had any one-liners before I came up here. [Laughter] I appreciate 
Father Daniel Coughlin, who will join us shortly. And Rabbi, thank you 
for coming. Rabbi Weinreb, I'm honored that you're here. I appreciate 
your reading. I also want to welcome Vonette Bright, the former National 
Day of Prayer Task Force chairman. Vonette, we're honored you're with 
us. Thank you for coming.
    At so many crucial points in the life of America, we have been a 
nation at prayer. Abraham Lincoln, from this house, called the Nation to 
prayer in the darkest days of the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt, 60 
years ago on D-day, led the Nation in prayer over the radio, asking for 
God to watch over our sons in battle.
    A prayerful spirit has always been a central part of our national 
tradition, and it remains a vital part of our national character. 
Americans of every faith and every tradition turn daily to God in 
reverence and humility. We bring our cares to Him knowing He is our help 
in ages past, our hope for years to come. It was Lincoln who called 
Americans ``the almost chosen people.'' [Laughter] At that word, 
``almost'' makes quite a difference. [Laughter]
    Americans do not presume to equate God's purposes with any purpose 
of our own. God's will is greater than any man or any nation built by 
men. He works His will. He finds His children within every culture and 
every tribe. And while every human enterprise must end, His kingdom will 
have no end. Our part, our calling is to align our hearts and action 
with God's plan, insofar as we can know it. A humble heart is not an 
indifferent heart. We cannot be neutral in the face of injustice or 
cruelty or evil. God is not on the side of any nation, yet we know He is 
on the side of justice. And it is the deepest strength of America that 
from the hour of our founding, we have chosen justice as our goal.
    Our greatest failures as a nation have come when we lost sight of 
that goal, in slavery, in segregation, and in every wrong that has 
denied the value and dignity of life. Our finest moments have come when 
we have faithfully served the cause of justice for our own citizens and 
for the people of other lands. And through our Nation's history, we have 
turned to prayer for wisdom to know the good and for the courage to do 
the good.
    Many people in every age have made the same request of the wise and 
the holy: Teach us to pray. One of the answers begins with ``Our Father, 
who art in Heaven.'' That answer has guided people through two 
millennia. In that example, we learn to give praise where it is due. We 
recognize that all that we have and all that we are come as gifts, and 
it is natural to be grateful to the Giver.
    Americans, on this National Day of Prayer, are thankful. We're 
thankful for our freedom, for so many blessings, large and small, and 
we're thankful for this wonderful land we call home.
    In prayer, we offer petitions, because the Maker of the Universe 
knows our cares and our needs. For our Nation today, the need is great, 
as young men and women face danger in our defense, for the sake of 
freedom and for the sake of peace. We pray that God's hand will protect 
them and deliver them safely home. We pray for the loved ones who 
anxiously await their return. And we pray for the families that have 
known great loss, that they might receive God's peace in the midst of 
their sadness.
     Prayer also teaches us to trust, to accept that God's plan unfolds 
in His time, not our own. That trust is not always easy, as we discover 
in our own lives, but trust is the source of ultimate confidence. We 
affirm that all of life and all of history rests entirely on the 
character of our creation and our Creator. And His love and His mercy 
extend to all and endure forever.
    May God bless you all.

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Note: The President spoke at 3:15 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to J. Reilly Lewis, music director 
and founder, Washington Bach Consort; Shirley Dobson, chairman, National 
Day of Prayer Task Force, and her husband, James; Rev. Daniel P. 
Coughlin, Chaplain, U.S. House of Representatives; and Rabbi Dr. Tzvi 
Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president, Orthodox Union.