Crying Out to God in This Civilization Moment

One of the most stirring examples of the power of prayer in American history occurred during the darkest days of the Civil War. In 1863, with the nation fracturing and its future uncertain, President Abraham Lincoln called on the country to pray.

In a brutal war that pitted brother against brother, Lincoln recognized the need for national repentance and divine help. His proclamation speaks directly to our generation and our great need for God today.

Here is the president’s proclamation in full:

By the President of the United States of America — 
A Proclamation for a National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer

Whereas the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation: 

And whereas 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 those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the thirtieth day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at their several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to the occasion.

All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest our hopes in that God who has never forsaken this favored land, and on Him let us humbly invoke the Divine guidance and blessing upon our country and all its people.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this third day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

Abraham Lincoln

Our Civilization Moment Calls for Humility & Prayer

He did not frame prayer as a ceremonial gesture or add-on to civic life. He described it as the duty of nations. In times of national crisis, prayer opens the way for moral clarity: a confession that we need wisdom beyond our own and forgiveness for the failures that have tarnished our common story as a nation.

The need for prayer is urgent in what commentator and theologian Os Guiness describes as a civilization moment — “a critical transition phase in the rise, course, and decline of a civilization when a civilization loses its decisive connection with the dynamic that inspired it.” When that happens, Guinness states there are only three possible outcomes: renewal, replacement, or decline. 

How will we respond to the civilization moment we live in currently? Will we return to the ideas, ideals, and inspiration that contributed to our nation’s founding and flourishing? Or, with our roots severed and no replacement, will we decline and die?

National Day of Prayer

In times of division, anxiety, and moral confusion, prayer forces us to look beyond ourselves. The deepest needs of a nation cannot be solved by policy alone.

The National Day of Prayer is not simply about asking God for blessings. It is about asking God to shape us. We don’t gather to demand that God affirm our agenda. We gather to humble ourselves before Him — to confess our need for God, choose dependence on Him over self-sufficiency without Him, and pray earnestly for revival and spiritual awakening in our land.

Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation reminds us that prayer is not a last resort. It never has been. It is the first and most powerful thing we can do for our nation. When communities and churches gather to pray, they are declaring their dependence on the mercy and guidance of Almighty God.

Participate in This Year’s National Day of Prayer 

On Thursday, May 7, we invite you to join millions across the United States in praying for our nation. As you consider how you might participate, you can:

• Set aside time to pray with your family.
• Gather with friends or attend a gathering at your church.
• Attend a Citywide gathering of prayer.

One wonderful opportunity will be the multi-church United Prayer Gathering of Prayer and Worship held at Fellowship Bible Church – West Little Rock at 7:00 PM.

From Lincoln’s proclamation to the present day, the call remains the same: humble ourselves, seek God, and pray for the healing of our land.

In this civilization moment, will you join us in crying out to God?

2026 National Prayer

Almighty God, King of Glory, we confess our sins and repent of our pride that sought our own glory and comfort, allowing evil to take root instead of Your fruit in our hearts, homes, culture, and country.

Please forgive us. 

Now, with this declaration of rededication, we humble ourselves, pray, and seek Your face, turning from our wicked ways, that You would heal our lives and our land. 

Please purify and renew our hearts with holy attributes, affections, attitudes, and actions to love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

We give You glory as we repent and rededicate our lives and our nation to You.

For 250 years, You have guarded and guided American wisdom, grace, mercy, and love.

We praise and thank You for our Founding Fathers, for all who sought You in fervent prayer throughout history and answered Your call to defend justice and freedom; to protect and serve, preach and teach, innovate, communicate, learn, work, worship, and establish our laws.

May Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done in our lives, our Families, the Church, Education, Business, Military, Government, Arts, Entertainment, and Media as it is in heaven.

We prayerfully commit to “Glorify God Among the Nations, Seeking Him in All Generations.”  

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

For more information on the other National Day of Prayer events and helpful resources for families, churches, and communities, visit the National Day of Prayer Website.