Prayer has always been an integral part of American public life. IN acknowledgment of this fact, U.S. presidents have called the nation to prayer throughout the decades. Since 9152, we had had a presidentially and congressionally approved National Day of Prayer. Celebrated every year on the first Thursday in May, it is an important national observance deserving explanation and discussion in the classroom. Here are some of the many remarks made by U.S. presidents on the need for individual and corporate prayer.

George Washington, Thanksgiving 1789
" It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits and humbly implore His protection and favor."

John Adams, March 4, 1797
" And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice an the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation."

James Madison, March 4, 1809
" ...the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future."

Andrew Jackson, March 4, 1833
" Tis my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being...that He will so overrule all my intentions and actions and inspire the hearts of my fellow citizens that we may be preserved from dangers of all kinds and continue forever a united, happy people."

William Henry Harrison, March 4, 1841
" To that Good Being who has blessed us by the gifts of civil and religious freedom, who watched over and prospered the labors of our fathers and has hitherto preserved to us institutions...exceeding in excellence...let us unite in fervently commending every interest of our beloved country in all future time."

Franklin Pierce, March 4, 1853
" It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence."

Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865
" It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope, that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures, and proven by all history, that these nations only are blessed who God is the Lord."

Grover Cleveland, March 4, 1885
" And let us not trust in human effort alone, but humbly acknowledge the power and goodness of Almighty God, who presides over the destiny of nations, and who has at all times been revealed in our country's history; let us invoke His aid and His blessings upon our labors."

Theodore Roosevelt, March 4, 1905
" No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with the gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us."

Calvin Coolidge, March 4, 1925
" America...cherishes no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God."

Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20, 1945
" So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly...to the achievement of His will, to peace on earth."

Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 20, 1953
" Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right form wrong, and allow all of our words and actions to be governed thereby...Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race or calling."

John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961
" With a good conscience our only sure reward...let us to forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help."

Richard Milhous Nixon, January 20, 1969
" Let us go forward, firm in our faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious of the dangers; but sustained by our confidence in the will of God and the promise of man."

Jimmy Carter, January 20, 1977
" Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first president in 1789, and I have just taken the oath of office on the Bible my mother gave me just a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition from the ancient prophet Micah: 'He has showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God' (Micah 6:8).'"

Ronald Reagon, February 9, 1982
" To preserve our blessed land we must look to God...It is time to realize that we need God more than He needs us... We also have His promise that we could take to heart with regard to our country, that 'If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn form their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

William J. Clinton, April 12, 1994
" From patriots and presidents to advocates for justice, our history reflects the strong presence of prayer in American life. Presidents, above all, need the power of prayer, their own and that of all Americans. We need not shrink as Americans from asking for divine assistance in our continuing efforts to relieve human suffering at home and abroad, to reduce hatred, violence and abuse, and to restore families across our land... I encourage the citizens of this great Nation to gather, each in his or her own manner, to recognize the blessings, acknowledge our wrongs to remember the needy, to seek guidance for our challenging future and to give thanks for the abundance we have enjoyed throughout out history."