[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 125, 112th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 8667 of April 29, 2011

National Day of Prayer, 2011
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Throughout our history, Americans have turned to prayer for strength,
inspiration, and solidarity.
Prayer has played an important role in the American story and in shaping
our Nation's leaders. President Abraham Lincoln once said, ``I have been
driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I
had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed
insufficient for the day.'' The late Coretta Scott King recounted a
particularly difficult night, during the Montgomery bus boycott, when
her husband, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received a
threatening phone call and prayed at the kitchen table, saying, ``Lord,
I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where
I can't face it alone.'' Dr. King said, in that moment of prayer, he was
filled with a sense of comfort and resolve, which his wife credited as a
turning point in the civil rights movement.
It is thus fitting that, from the earliest years of our country's
history, Congress and Presidents have set aside days to recognize the
role prayer has played in so many definitive moments in our history. On
this National Day of Prayer, let us follow the example of President
Lincoln and Dr. King. Let us be thankful for the liberty that allows
people of all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates
of their conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other freedoms
and blessings that we often take for granted.
Let us pray for the men and women of our Armed Forces and the many
selfless sacrifices they and their families make on behalf of our
Nation. Let us pray for the police officers, firefighters, and other
first responders who put themselves in harm's way every day to protect
their fellow citizens. And let us ask God for the sustenance and
guidance for all of us to meet the great challenges we face as a Nation.
Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those who have been affected
by natural disasters at home and abroad in recent months, as well as
those working tirelessly to render assistance. And, at a time when many
around the world face uncertainty and unrest, but also hold resurgent
hope for freedom and justice, let our prayers be with men and women
everywhere who seek peace, human dignity, and the same rights we
treasure here in America.
The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on the
President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first
Thursday in May as a ``National Day of Prayer.''
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2011, as a National Day of Prayer. I
invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or conscience
directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we
enjoy, and I ask all people of faith to join me in asking God for
guidance, mercy, and protection for our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and

[[Page 2014]]

of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA