President Joe Biden, a self-proclaimed devout Catholic, is facing criticism from some Christians for omitting “God” from his National Day of Prayer proclamation, making him the first U.S. president to do so since the day was first established in 1952.
“As we continue to confront the crises and challenges of our time—from a deadly pandemic, to the loss of lives and livelihoods in its wake, to a reckoning on racial justice, to the existential threat of climate change—Americans of faith can call upon the power of prayer to provide hope and uplift us for the work ahead,” the proclamation read.
“How do you release a proclamation about prayer and not mention God at all?” questioned Christian Broadcasting Network’s Chief Political Analyst David Brody.
Franklin Graham suggested the possibility that Biden was unaware of the omission before using the opportunity to share who the true God is and what His mission entails.
“I’m not sure that [Biden] even knows,” Franklin said on Fox News Primetime. “It was probably a staff person that wrote it and maybe [it wasn’t] even run by him—because I don’t think Joe Biden would have approved that one.”
“This is a National Day of Prayer,” he added. “Of course we need to call on God—and not just some generic ‘gods’ or some ‘power’ in the air—but on God Himself, the Creator who made and created this Earth and who sent His Son, Jesus Christ from Heaven to this Earth to save mankind from sin by dying on a cross. And God raised Him to life.
“There is no one else to pray to except to God.”
On Feb. 3, 1952, Billy Graham held a peace rally on the east steps of the United States Capitol building to encourage the president to establish a National Day of Prayer. Two days later, legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives and passed after committee action by unanimous vote. President Harry Truman signed the joint resolution into law in April 1952.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed an amended version of the law establishing the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer.
“I believe prayer is so important,” Franklin said via video message on his Facebook page. “This gives us an opportunity to go directly to the throne of grace, to go directly to the presence of Almighty God Himself and make our petitions.
“… Our country is in trouble—it’s been in trouble,” he continued. “We’re in a downward spiral morally, spiritually. The only hope for our country is Christians praying for God to intervene. I don’t see any other hope outside Almighty God intervening.
“But how to we get the ear of God? Prayer. I just encourage you to pray.”
Above: President Joe Biden bows his head as he participates during a virtual presidential inaugural prayer service in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21.
Photo: MediaPunch Inc./Alamy Stock Photo