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America Must Pray

By Dr. Mal Couch

Public prayer, spiritual publications of poems and music, have always been a part of America, until recently. There are forces now trying to silence the Christian spiritual heritage of open and free expression to our God that made this nation great.

Each week I’ll add some historical tidbits as how Christian expression and public prayer was a vital part of our nation’s blessing. We may not fully know of the spiritual state of all the men we examine, but we do know none of them were fearful of prayers to the God of the Bible in the public setting.

If you are a pastor or Sunday school teacher, please print off these little bits of our history and share them with others.

James Madison

Like many men in the generation of leaders in his day, Madison did not often speak publicly of his Christian commitment. Yet when he was younger he had prepared for the ministry at the College of New Jersey, later to be named Princeton. In order to prepare, he studied the Old Testament, classical languages, including Hebrew, and spent an extra year in college for more study. It is said he immersed himself during that time in the rigors of a regimen of prayer.

As president, he and his family resided in the Executive Mansion with St. John’s Episcopal Church just across the street. The family joined the church and worshipped and prayed there often. The family occupied pew 54. This pew was later reserved for the use of all future presidents of the United States.

During the war of 1812 with England, Madison called for the country to pray and fast on several occasions. Congress urged him (and he agreed) to call for prayer, remembering the catalytic effect prayer had on the nation during the Revolutionary War three decades earlier. Rather than calling for prayer for divine intervention, Madison beseeched America to acknowledge fully its sins and to ask for God’s divine redemption to absolve the country’s past transgressions. He recommended the third Thursday in August to be set apart for the purposes of rendering homage to the Sovereign of the Universe.

In his letter to the nation Madison wrote: "That God would take the American people under His peculiar care and protection, and that He would guide their public councils." He prayed that God would "turn the hearts of our enemies from the violence and injustice which sway their councils against us, and that He would hasten a restoration of the blessings of peace."