1.1A House resolution
1.2recognizing the first Thursday in May as a day of statewide prayer, fasting, and
1.3repentance in Minnesota
1.4WHEREAS, the citizens of the state of Minnesota have roots in many cultures, with
nearly
1.5every nationality represented, and honor a variety of religious traditions; and
1.6WHEREAS, the history of our state is replete with leaders who voluntarily called upon
God,
1.7whether the need was great or small; and
1.8WHEREAS, civic and national days of prayer have a long and venerable history in our
1.9constitutional republic, dating back to the First Continental Congress in 1775; and
1.10WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence, our first statement of national purpose
and
1.11identity as Americans, made "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God" the foundation
of our United
1.12States of America and asserted that people have inalienable rights that are God-given;
and
1.13WHEREAS, in 1988, legislation setting aside the first Thursday in May in each year
as a
1.14National Day of Prayer was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed
by the
1.15President; and
1.16WHEREAS, the National Day of Prayer is an opportunity for Americans of all faiths
to join
1.17in united prayer to acknowledge our dependence on God's grace, to give thanks for
blessings
1.18received, to request healing for wounds endured, and to ask God to guide our leaders,
bless our
1.19troops, and bring wholeness to the United States and its citizens; and
1.20WHEREAS, May 3, 2018, marks the 67th consecutive observance of the National Day of
1.21Prayer in cities and towns throughout the United States and provides us with a powerful
opportunity
1.22to humble ourselves; and
1.23WHEREAS, this year we continue to pray for American armed services members and their
1.24families; and
2.1WHEREAS, in his 1863 proclamation of a national day of prayer, President Abraham Lincoln
2.2noted that the Congress had called upon him to appoint such a day "devoutly recognizing
the
2.3supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and
of nations";
2.4and
2.5WHEREAS, Lincoln noted further in his proclamation that "It is the duty of nations
as well
2.6as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their
sins and
2.7transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will
lead to mercy
2.8and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and
proven by
2.9all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is Lord..."; and
2.10WHEREAS, Lincoln noted further in his proclamation that "We have been the recipients
of
2.11the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years in peace
and prosperity.
2.12We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But
we have
2.13forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and
multiplied
2.14and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness
of our hearts,
2.15that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated
2.16with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of
redeeming and
2.17preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then,
to humble ourselves
2.18before the offended Power to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and
forgiveness";
2.19NOW, THEREFORE,
2.20BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota that it affirms
2.21the sentiments of President Lincoln and commends them to Minnesotans to be applied
to their daily
2.22lives and that it recognizes May 3, 2018, as a Day of Prayer in the state of Minnesota
and commends
2.23this observance to all citizens.
2.24BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives is
2.25directed to prepare an enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by his
signature and that
2.26of the Speaker, and transmit it to the National Prayer Committee.
