Do We Need a Day of Prayer and Fasting?

Texas Governor Rick Perry has proclaimed a day of prayer and fasting for Aug. 6. What is the history of such proclamations? What does the Bible say about humbling ourselves, praying and really repenting?

It takes guts to ask people to pray and fast in the year 2011. Yet that’s just what Governor Rick Perry of Texas is doing. He has asked the citizens of his state to set aside this Saturday, Aug. 6, as a day of fasting and prayer to the Creator God “on behalf of our troubled nation.”

His state is suffering its third-worst drought ever. The nation is entangled in two overseas wars. The economy is going through perilous times.

U.S. history of declarations of prayer and fasting

Governor Perry notes these national and local threats, as well as the long history of leaders in the U.S. calling for prayer and fasting, in his declaration. It reads in part:

“In 1775, the Continental Congress asked the colonies to join in prayer, seeking wisdom as they faced the responsibility and opportunity of building a new nation. As leaders of that young nation assembled in 1787 to craft a Constitution, Benjamin Franklin implored the framers to pray for guidance, famously declaring, ‘The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men.’

“Decades later, during a time of national turmoil, President John Adams declared ‘a day of solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer,’ asking citizens of all faiths to pray for America’s protection from danger. Later, as civil war tore our young country apart, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of national fasting and prayer, saying, ‘It behooves us ... to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray to the God that made us.’

“During World War II, with our troops locked in battle on the beaches of France, President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the nation in prayer, ‘As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.’

“Given the trials that have beset our country and world—from the global economic downturn to natural disasters, the lingering danger of terrorism and wars that endanger our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and theaters of conflict around the globe, and the decline of our culture in the context of the demise of families—it seems imperative that the people of our nation should once again join together for a solemn day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation. …

“Therefore, I invite my fellow Texans to join me on August 6 as we pray for unity and righteousness—for this great state, this great nation and all mankind. I urge Americans of faith to pray on that day for the healing of our country, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of enduring values as our guiding force.”

The words of Washington

It is hard for those in more secular countries to understand such religious declarations from political leaders today. But the faith tradition of the United States of America has often made appeal to the Creator in times of crisis. Notice these words of the first president, George Washington, in his first inaugural address:

“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

Washington also declared:

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”

From Lincoln to Reagan

No less ashamed to speak publicly about God was the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, who in 1863, as he established the national Thanksgiving Day celebration, proclaimed:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. …

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. …

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

What is so striking about these historical appeals to our Creator is how unashamed these presidents then were to appeal to God. Even as recently as the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan declared 1983 to be the “National Year of the Bible.” President Reagan called the Bible “the rock on which our republic rests,” and asked, “Can we resolve to reach, learn and try to heed the greatest message ever written, God’s Word, and the Holy Bible?” He stated boldly “Inside its pages lie all the answers to all the problems that man has ever known.”

The Bible calls for wholehearted repentance

Nearly three millennia prior to President Reagan’s declaration, at a national ceremony at the dedication of the Jerusalem temple, Almighty God promised King Solomon: “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

Wholehearted repentance is called for.

That is what the United States truly needs today: real repentance—real turning to the true and living God of the Bible. All nations need that.

Ultimately, though, repentance is not a national thing. Repentance is an individual response to God. Personal prayer and fasting and humility are part of this personal transformation. Yes, we do need a day—or many days—of prayer and fasting. We need humility and real repentance.

Whatever others do, God calls on us to make this a personal choice.

Ralph Levy is a minister of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, who grew up in England and now lives in the United States. Dr. Levy enjoys serving the Church, reading, travel and foreign languages. He has a Ph.D. in biblical studies and has worked in foreign language and religious education for much of his professional life.