Though President Barack Obama insists that prayer is a private act, he will follow in the footsteps of previous presidents today, signing a proclamation to declare the National Day of Prayer then moving on to other business of the day. At the same time, the president has asked a federal court in Wisconsin to dismiss an attempt to abolish the special occasion.

In a lawsuit filed during the Bush Administration, the Freedom From Religion Foundation claims the day violates the separation of church and state. It asks the judge to declare the law unconstitutional and to order presidents and governors to stop issuing prayer proclamations such as the one expected from Obama today.

But the lawsuit also claims federal and state governments work too closely with the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a conservative Christian group led by Shirley Dobson, the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. The task force calls for the prayer proclamations, the suit says, and suggests specific Scripture to quote in them.

That accusation does not apply to the Obama administratio. In fact, Obama has taken it on the chin from Dobson’s group for not hosting a White House ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer.

“We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama administration,” said Shirley Dobson, chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, who for the past eight years has attended a White House ceremony with her husband. “At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer.”

To imply that Obama does not recognize the power of prayer is ridiculous, one White House official said. Supporters say his battle to dismiss the Wisconsin suit should demonstrate that.

“President Obama is a committed Christian and believes that we should be engaging Americans of faith in efforts to renew our country,” the official said. “He is following the tradition of Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and others by signing a proclamation honoring the National Day of Prayer, while continuing to work with communities of faith to improve our country.”

The National Day of Prayer became law in 1952 under President Harry Truman following a six-week crusade in the nation’s capital led by Rev. Billy Graham. Members of the House and Senate introduced a joint resolution for an annual National Day of Prayer, “on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”

One senator called the resolution a measure against “the corrosive forces of communism which seek simultaneously to destroy our democratic way of life and the faith in an Almighty God on which it is based.”

But the idea was not new. It had been proposed and rejected several times. In an 1808 letter to Rev. Samuel Miller, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it.”

James Madison expressed doubts about National Days of Prayer in 1817 when he wrote “they seem to imply and certainly nourish the erroneous idea of a national religion.”

After Truman signed it into law, President Ronald Reagan amended it in 1988 to state that the observances would be held the first Thursday in May.

Ron Millar, acting director for the Secular Coalition of America, commended the decision to discontinue Bush’s traditional ceremony.

He said the ceremony championed the Religious Right more than it promoted prayer. Either way, it’s not something the federal government should encourage, he said.

“It’s a nice first step,” Millar said. “Generally, we don’t want the federal government to endorse prayer because it’s endorsing a specific religion. We’d rather them not be in that business. It would be difficult to be all inclusive on this.”

Last month, the Interfaith Alliance joined others in urging Obama to support a National Day of Prayer and Reflection, “that restores and respects our nation’s best values by explicitly inviting clergy from diverse faith traditions to participate equally and fully-especially in events held on government property.”

Clarenda Jordan, a member of an online Obama Prayer Team, doesn’t need a proclamation to mark the day and pray. She offered the following prayer to guide Obama’s work this morning.

Dear God,

We have so much to be thankful for! Finally someone is willing to do the hard job of cutting out waste in government. Lord we know that for every program there is a stronghold. Each cut is a battle against those who profit from waste and war against the greater good of our nation. Please strengthen President Obama as he stands up to these forces. Lord please move the mountains and roadblocks out of the way. Let us come out of this valley stronger, wiser, more  efficient and productive as a nation. Please help those who get caught in the crossfire and lose their jobs in the restructuring of our nation. Help them get on their feet and restore them to productive work. Thank you for being a great big God! We look at our circumstances and they  overwhelm us! Our peace and comfort in the midst of it all is in You.

Bless us this day Lord, Amen.

So what do you think? Should Obama publicly celebrate the National Day of Prayer or simply mark it with a proclamation and leave the prayers private and the reflection up to us? Do you have a prayer for the day?

Originally posted: May 7, 2009 on http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2009/05/obama-national-day-of-prayer-.html