YOUR AD HERE »

Letter: On God, love and prayer

May 5 was our local gathering for Aspen. Thanks to all who came and prayed here and across the nation.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for our nation.

It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.



This observance is based on the understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and reverence for the God of the Bible.

The Bible is the one book that has transcended attempts to destroy it and disprove it for so many generations. Yet it remains.




God’s word is true and his promises are good and wonderful. He wants us to turn to him, as past themes of National Day of Prayer show.

II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

What a promise to his people, originally the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and now to not only them but anyone who has chosen to believe in his son. He prefers obedience to sacrifice.

Because of the faith of many of our founding fathers, public prayer and national days of prayer have a long-standing and significant history in American tradition. The Supreme Court affirmed the right of state Legislatures to open their sessions with prayer in Marsh v. Chambers, 1983.

The National Day of Prayer is part of our heritage. Each year the president signs a proclamation encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year all 50 governors plus several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations.

The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation as it enables us to recall and teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call for us to humbly come before God, seeking his guidance for our leaders and his grace upon us as a people. (Grace is getting what we do not deserve: free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.)

The unanimous passing of the bill establishing the National Day of Prayer is as important to our nation today as it was in the beginning.

The National Day of Prayer belongs to all Americans. It is a day that transcends differences, bring together citizens from all backgrounds.

The president shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups and as individuals. This law was signed by President Bill Clinton.

This is an election year and there is so much going on that does not look attractive to most of us. My heart personally aches. I want the candidates to look at the issues and not attack one another. I want more than anything for them to turn to the God who cares and can change all of this. The bottom line is love. Without love, we are nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Corinthians 13: 4-13: “Love is patient, love is kind, does not boast, is not proud. It does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.

If I have not love, I am nothing.”

May we all enter this day with deep love in our hearts and a hope that indeed as we obey, He will hear our prayer, forgive our sins (sin means simply missing the mark: He has one for us and we all fall short) and heal our land. It is in need of that. We would be blind to think that what is happening here is OK. Each of us has seen a change that does not make us feel safe.

Pam and John Fisher

Aspen