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Billy Graham's Prayer for the Nation:
Our Father and Our God,
We praise You for Your goodness to our nation, giving us blessings far beyond what we deserve.
Yet we know all is not right with America. We deeply need a moral and spiritual renewal to help us meet the many problems we face.
Convict us of sin. Help us to turn to You in repentance and faith. Set our feet on the path of Your righteousness and peace.
We pray today for our nation's leaders. Give them the wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it.
You have said, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." May this be a new era for America, as we humble ourselves and acknowledge You alone as our Savior and Lord.
This we pray in your holy name, Amen.
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Quote from Alexis de Toqueville:
". . . I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...; in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
(This quote was attributed to DeToqueville by Dwight D. Eisenhower in his final campaign address in Boston, Massachusetts, November 3, 1952 Alexis De Toqueville was a French political scientist who toured America in 1831. His famous work Democracy in America, was first published in 1835 and 1840 and emphasized the intimate relationship between government, civil society and religion in the young republic.)
