So, where’s Obama on our National Day of Prayer?

According to the National Day of Prayer Task Force:

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.

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History Summary

1775 – The first Continental Congress called for a National Day of Prayer
1863 – Abraham Lincoln called for such a day.
1952 – Congress established NDP as an annual event by a joint resolution, signed into law by President Truman (82-324)
1988 – The law was amended and signed by President Reagan, designating the NDP as the first Thursday in May (100-307).

Fun Facts

1. The President of the United States has called for a National Day of Prayer every year since 1975.
2. There have been 134 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by the President of the United States (1789-2008).
3. There have been 56 Presidential Proclamations for a “National Day of Prayer” (1952-2008).
4. Gerald Ford (1976) and George H. Bush (1989-91) are the only U.S. Presidents to sign two National Day of Prayer Proclamations in the same year.

(More History)

So, what about our current President?

According to Gary Cass, of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Obama is choosing to keep his faith “in the closet.” While Dr. Cass commends the President for asking a federal court in Wisconsin to dismiss an attempt by the Freedom from Religion Foundation to abolish the day under the guise of “separation of church and state,” he reports that that:

[Obama will] spend time alone in prayer, rather than publically gathering together with other leaders as many Presidents have done in the past. Private prayer is commendable, but as President his public example, or lack thereof, is very significant.

Obama’s self-proclaimed “devout Christian faith” has been relatively unseen since his campaign. He has not begun attending a church regularly. He forbids Christian symbols to be present at any Presidential event, even if it is in a Christian facility like Georgetown University. In an unprecedented move, Obama censors any reference to Jesus Christ in prayers offered at a Presidential event.

President Obama shocked the world when he said on his recent trip to Muslim Turkey that America is not a Christian country. Even as he shuns all Christian symbols and practices from his Presidency, in April the White House hosted a Passover Seder. This was the first time a President has hosted this Jewish religious meal. Obama was raised by his grandparents as a Universalist in which all religions are merged into a confused collection of conflicting ideas.

So it seems that while Obama is comfortable inviting and celebrating the religions of others, his “own” Christian faith he continues to shun, deny and displace within his Presidency. Makes you wonder why he would try to make his “Christian” faith such an important campaign issue when in fact his example shows that he is just a good Universalist.

(Hat-Tip GoodNewsDaily.net)