The Case for National Prayer

There should be a National Day of Prayer. Why not? After all, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, prayer means: (1) an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought or (2) a set order of words used in prayingor (3) an earnest request or wish. A day dedicated to praying would not be unconstitutional so long as the government is not attaching a religion to said prayers. And according to the definition, praying is at its most basic a request or wish, so religion is not even mentioned.

Of course, those who are against the National Day of Prayer idea will say that it creates a precedence for prayer in schools. Although this is a possibility, a Day of Prayer would not single out people who choose not to participate (unlike school prayer) and it would not single out a God or religion (also unlike school prayer).

The advent of an opportunity to come together as a country would also rally everyone the same way a disaster does, but without the guilt and devastation. After September 11, 2001, former President Bush's ratings hit an all-time high because of the bond America formed to protect ourselves. Hurricane Katrina was another bonding time for the country because so many people were so affected and so many people wanted to help out neighbors and friends and just other Americans. Those events, however, were so terrible and because of this, once the immediate danger was removed, Americans broke apart once more. Prayers are unifying. Having everyone praying together, publicly or privately, is a way of showing togetherness and pride in a positive manner; positivity breeds positivity, so the feeling of being a unified country would last longer.

This would be an excellent opportunity to learn about other faiths and customs as well. Each faith is different, even between Protestants! A Baptist ceremony is going to be different from an Episcopalian one. Catholic services are vastly different from Protestant ones, so having a national day to pray in every person's religion would open discussions about the variations in faiths. Beyond the Western religions, this would also be a wonderful chance to dispel myths about Eastern religions and customs. For example, not all Muslims are fanatics... There are fanatics in every religion and nobody should make the blanket statement that Islam promotes violence! (Especially since Islam is a very beautiful religion and promotes peace and the path therein.)

All in all, a National Day of Prayer is a really fantastic idea!