250 YEARS OF PRAYER IN AMERICA
"In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection"
~Ben Franklin
In May of 1776, the Continental Congress observed a day of “Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, humbly supplicate the mercy of Almighty God…”, and George Washington passed this along as an order to his military.
Prayer has been part of the American military experience since the nation’s earliest days, reaching back to the Revolutionary War, when chaplains served alongside soldiers who faced uncertainty, hardship, and the possibility of death far from home. Over time, from the Civil War to World Wars, and still today, chaplains continue to pray with troops, comfort the wounded, bury the dead, and remind service members that courage was not only physical but also spiritual. For many service members, prayer has offered strength before battle, peace in moments of fear, and hope when the cost of war felt overwhelming. In this way, prayer in the American military is both a historical tradition and a deeply personal practice, connecting faith with duty, sacrifice, and the search for meaning in the difficult realities of military service.
"I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have the United States in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristics of the Devine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. Amen"
George Washington's prayer for his country
