A National Day Of Fasting And Prayer Has Unfortunately Been Watering Down To Only Be A National Day Of Prayer

More recent presidents established regular days to honor God, but made it exclusive to prayer, unfortunately omitting the role of fasting. A National Day of Prayer is better than nothing. God wants us to pray, of course. A National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer, as mentioned several times above, is more akin to what the Bible calls for. It is the appropriate avenue when a nation has lost its way, and has turned away from God.

Today, there is a National Day of Prayer that takes place each May in the United States.

This movement to make it an annual day was signed by Harry Truman in 1952, following a joint resolution by Congress calling for the President to, “set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation.” Notably, fasting, by 1952, had been replaced by meditation in the minds of our national leaders, who appear to consider that a fitting substitute.

Ronald Reagan signed an amendment to that law in 1988, making it not just an annual requirement, but fixing it as the first Thursday of each May. Bill Clinton signed into law a second time in 1998 as 36 U.S. Code § 119, with nearly identical wording as the existing amended law.

It has become official. It has become regular. It has become instituted into law. It has become a formality. Not only that, but it has become significantly watered down. The more official and regular this call to fasting and prayer has become, the more watered down it has become. I say that with all do respect to those who make the official day of prayer into an event, because I surely recognize that any day of prayer is better than no day of prayer. I simply believe that what I am presenting the case for here needs to be a little different, a little less structured, a little less regular.

We need to not have a watered-down day of fasting and prayer. We need to not have a set day, which can so easily become a mindless, rote practice. We need a day in which we follow the Biblical prescription presented by God for a time such as the one we are living through.

For this reason, I do not support a set, annual day of prayer, nor do I support a set, annual day of fasting and prayer. I support a day of fasting and prayer when the situation is called for. We are living in such a time. I also support a day of fasting and prayer when the people involved act in a sincere way. I believe we live in such a time when many Americans, and also non-American supporters of the founding concepts of America, are likely to find themselves moved to fast and pray and to do so with great sincerity. This is not something that we should make an annual event of, but one that should be done when it is appropriate. Now is such a time. To do otherwise is likely to callous the heart to the effective concept of fasting and prayer.

For similar reasons, I do not support a call for a day of fasting and prayer that passes through official channels. Through such official channels, this declaration of the Bible is likely to be watered down. The less official, the better. No matter who is the recognized head of government, a National Day of Fasting and Prayer can effectively be called for by the recognized leader of the nation. It may be done with a press release. It may be done with a social media post. The less time it spends discussed in committee, the better. The less time spent seeking consensus on this idea, the better. A strong leader is needed to make a Godly declaration to the American people to join him in this important Biblical tradition of humbling oneself before the Lord.

Not everyone in our era is raised to love the Lord. It is more common to be raised to not love the Lord. If a National Day of Fasting and Prayer were subjected to the official decision-making processes of the US Government in our era, the rancor and bickering that would surround such an idea would be extensive. The unifying and powerful idea would instead become divisive, and the move would ultimately become watered-down. A head of government could do his job and do exactly that. Instead, what is needed is for the leader of the nation to take a risk and to use some of his political capital to call America to a day of repentance, humbleness, and prayer before the Lord.

This post is excerpted from the book, “America needs…A National Day of Fasting and Prayer,” which can be purchased here at RealStevo.com at: https://realstevo.com/products/fast)