[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 18 (Monday, May 8, 2006)]
[Pages 846-847]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 8012--National Day of Prayer, 2006

 May 3, 2006

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    Throughout our Nation's history, our citizens have prayed and come 
together before God to offer Him gratitude, reflect on His will, seek 
His aid, and respond to His grace. On this National Day of Prayer, we 
thank God for His many blessings and His care of our country.
    God has greatly blessed the American people, and in 1789, George 
Washington proclaimed: ``It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge 
the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His 
benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor.'' Americans 
remain a prayerful and thankful people. We pray for the safety of our 
troops as they carry out dangerous missions with courage and compassion, 
and we remember the strength and sacrifice of their families. We pray 
for the good people of the Gulf Coast region as they work to rebuild 
their communities after the devastating hurricanes of 2005, and we thank 
God for the volunteers who have opened their hearts to help their 
neighbors in a time of need. We pray for the protection of innocent 
lives and for the expansion of peace and liberty throughout the world.
    Through prayer, our faith is strengthened, our hearts are humbled, 
and our lives are transformed. May our Nation always have the humility 
to trust in the goodness of God's plans.
    The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on our 
Nation to reaffirm the role of prayer in our culture and to respect the 
freedom of religion by recognizing each year a ``National Day of 
Prayer.''
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States 
of America,

[[Page 847]]

do hereby proclaim May 4, 2006, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask the 
citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own 
faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God's 
continued guidance and protection. I urge all Americans to join in 
observing this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
activities.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of 
May, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence 
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 5, 2006]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on May 8.