President Donald Trump announced during a Religious Liberty Commission meeting at the Museum of the Bible that the White House has launched an effort to pray for the nation ahead of its 250th celebration.
“Next year, we will celebrate 250 years since that Declaration was signed. As part of the grand commemoration… we’ve invited America’s great faith communities to pray for our nation, for our people, and for peace in the world, and it’s going to be an amazing time,” Trump said.
“America has always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer and we will never apologize for our faith — ever, ever, never, never,” Trump added. “We will never surrender our God-given rights. We will defend our liberties, our values, our sovereignty, and we will defend our freedom.”
Secretary Scott Turner of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shared that more than 70 “major faith organizations and churches have joined together to participate in what we are calling ‘America Prays.'”
“Think about the miracles that would take place over the next year,” he added. “Think about the transformation that you and I could witness in communities all across the land.”
The America Prays webpage asks, “What if one million Americans dedicated one hour a week to praying for our country and our people?” It goes on to encourage Americans to gather with at least 10 people weekly to pray for the nation.
“This dedicated time of prayer is not only for our nation, but for its people because a nation is only as strong as its citizens,” the page declares.
President Trump acknowledged the importance of praying for the country during a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on July 3, stating, “As we prepare to celebrate two and a half centuries of freedom, I am inviting America’s great religious communities to pray for our nation and for our people. From the beginning, this has always been a country sustained and strengthened by prayer. So important, if we bring religion back stronger, you’re going to see everything get better and better and better. You are going to see it get better and better. So, as we chart our course for the next 250 years, let us rededicate ourselves to one nation under God.”
