In 1787, when delegates at the Constitutional Convention were
divided and at an impasse how to build our government and frame the U.S.
Constitution, an 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin stood and appealed to
the other delegates to pray for divine intervention to help them out of
their darkness:
In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in
the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it
when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not
hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to
illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with G.
Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this
room for the divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they
were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle
must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in
our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of
consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national
felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? I have lived,
Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I
see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a
sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable
that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in
the sacred writings, that “except the Lord build the House they labour
in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this; and I also believe that
without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building
no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little
partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we
ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And
what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance,
despair of establishing Governments be Human Wisdom and leave it to
chance, war and conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move, that henceforth prayers imploring the
assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in
this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one
or more of the Clergy of the City be requested to officiate in that
service.
Those are riveting words and questions for any age and country, particularly our own.
The delegates at the Convention decided not to orchestrate a daily
formal ceremony led by various clergy in the area due to the advanced
stage of the Convention, not because they didn’t believe in the power of
prayer or its necessity. They still heeded Franklin’s spiritual
entreaty through their private prayers and, shortly after, the public
institution of paid governmental chaplains.
As the Wallbuilders website explained: “As it turns out, after the
Convention, and nine days after the first Constitutional Congress
convened with a quorum (April 9, 1789), they implemented Franklin’s
recommendation. Two chaplains of different denominations were appointed,
one to the House and one to the Senate, with a salary of $500 each.
This practice continues today, posing no threat to the First Amendment.
How could it? The men who authorized the chaplains wrote the Amendment.”
(To the chagrin of those who erroneously still try to use the First
Amendment to abolish the practice of prayer in public places, also in
1789, after being urged by Congress on the same day they finished
drafting the First Amendment, President Washington issued a Thanksgiving
Proclamation stating that: “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 humbly to implore His protection and
favor.”)
And did Franklin’s, Washington’s and the other delegates’ prayers pay off?
Answer: Do we have a U.S. Constitution and country?
In 1788, James Madison, the father of the Bill of Rights and our
fourth president, reflected a year back on the Constitutional Convention
and even earlier on the founding of the republic: “The real wonder is,
that so many difficulties should have been surmounted; and surmounted
with a unanimity almost as unprecedented as it must have been
unexpected. It is impossible for any man of candor to reflect on this
circumstance, without partaking of the astonishment. It is impossible
for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it, a finger of that
Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our
relief in the critical stages of the revolution.”
Our enemy is no longer Great Britain. But we have equally, if not
more, powerful enemies within and without the U.S., and we are even more
divided than in America’s beginnings. But whether local, national or
international entities, are those enemies more powerful than the
Almighty? Are their manipulations and sway beyond His reach? Has their
darkness so overshadowed us that even Providence cannot lead us out? Are
their conniving politics, propaganda and Ponzi schemes really more
powerful than prayer? Have we fell prey to their lies that our prayers
are now impotent and ineffective to change the course of history? And
how does our participation in that age-old intercessory practice answer
all those questions?
My last and most critical question is this: If the greatest leaders
in the history of our country, particularly our founders, called upon
the Almighty for heavenly assistance in the most critical and perilous
of times and experienced His hand of deliverance, wouldn’t this season
in our country’s history warrant exactly the same? Maybe more now than
ever before?
If you answer in the affirmative, as I do, I’d challenge and call you to participate in two critical upcoming prayer events.
First, the 62ndAnnual National Day of Prayer, or NDP, will be May 2.
This year’s theme is “Pray for America.” More than 40,000 public prayer
gatherings are expected to take place Thursday in our nation’s capital,
state capitals, county seats, cities, towns and villages across America.
You can locate a master list of events around the country at
National Day of Prayer Task Force website and
find an NDP event near you.
Second, because of the intense strongholds we face as a nation, WND
Editor Joseph Farah and thousands of others across the land are calling
up America’s spiritual reserves, challenging our spiritual fervor and
cranking up our spiritual warfare by also declaring a
National Day of Prayer and Fasting
– and on what better day than Sept. 11, 2013? You can register your
intent to participate and help spread the plan virally by going to
911DayofPrayer.com.
If Martin Luther said he had to pray for two hours daily to overcome
the devil, and for three hours during particularly busy days; if Jesus
Himself said that certain strongholds would only be overcome through
prayer and fasting – a discipline to align our spirit and body in
prayer; if Benjamin Franklin called for daily prayers, can we not set
aside two days this year to stand up for our country by kneeling on its
behalf?
Our duty isn’t to judge the outcome, to discern the impact, but simply to pray, as Benjamin Franklin advised.
His two questions still stand and warrant an answer from each of us:
“Have we now forgotten that powerful friend?”
“And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it
probably that an empire can rise [or rise again] without his aid?”
Two questions, two events – to help restore the United States of America.