The Pious

The Pious


As promised, a blog on the President’s “lack of participation on the National Day of Prayer”. I’m not going to get into the issues of separation of church and state, but rather address the issue as an issue of perspective. I will argue it from a Christian perspective..

First off participation is a relative term in this instance. While the president did not lead the nation in prayer, he did issue this proclamation.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 7, 2009, as a National Day of Prayer. I call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and to ask for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection for this land that we love.”

The entire proclamation can be read here:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2009/05/obamas-national-day-of-prayer.html

So, in this instance, I’m going to assume the charge comes from the fact that he didn’t participate “in public” and that will be the point that I will argue.

First some background on the National Day of Prayer:

There have been various forms of this holiday throughout our history starting with the Continental Congress in 1775 as a “time for prayer in forming a new nation." Ben Franklin suggested the prayer and according to his notes, several members didn’t think it necessary and the subject was dropped. Various presidents since have had prayer days for various occasions, war, depression, etc. In 1952, President Truman signed the first National Day of Prayer bill requiring following presidents to declare a day of prayer on a day of their choosing. In 1988, Reagan signed a bill mandating that the National Day of Prayer be held on the first Thursday of May. The intention was “that it would be a day when members of all faiths could pray together in their own way”

Those last 4 words are of most importance here. In their own way. Perhaps Obama didn’t pray in their way but, his own. Here is what the bible says on the subject, which I think is most ironic considering where the verses come from:

Matthew 6:1-13

1“Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2So, when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

5”And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed by your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.


So, as a Christian, Obama’s choice to pray in private, is the righteous, pious one. Unless he’s a priest, reverend or pastor, it is not his role to lead other’s in prayer but, to give thanks and glory in private, so as not to be a hypocrite. His reward will be in heaven, according to Matthew.

That brings me to my next point on this subject. Obama introduced a National Day of Service. Talk should always be followed by action…you can pray, but, it means nothing if you’re not willing to put those words into action. It boils down to whether you believe that service as a Christian is as important or more important than the words.

James 1:22-25

"Become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning. For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, and off he goes and immediately forgets what sort of man he is. But he who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and who persists in it, this man, because he has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, will be happy in his doing it."

Perspective matters.