(If you don’t know about this great man, you need to. He not only helped found America, his briliant mind and his pervsive influence shaped this country and its precepts that we live in. That he was so very close to the real God made his lasting influence even more important. Below I have written a synopsis of his life and some of his thoughts. Do read it.)

“The power to tax involves the power to destroy,” wrote Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819.Perhaps no one had a greater impact on the development of Constitutional Law than John Marshall.

He was born September 24, 1755, and was home schooled as a youth.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, John Marshall served with the Culpeper Minutemen.

Marshall joined the Continental Army and served as a captain in the Virginia Regiment under General George Washington, enduring the freezing winter at Valley Forge.

John Marshall later described George Washington: “Without making ostentatious professions of religion, he was a sincere believer in the Christian faith, and a truly devout man.”

John Marshall studied law at the College of William and Mary under Chancellor George Wythe, as did also Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Henry Clay, and Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington, the nephew of George Washington.

George Wythe was a prominent opponent of slavery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and, with George Mason, he designed the Seal of Virginia with the motto Sic Semper Tyrannis – Thus Always to Tyrants.

Following George Wythe’s example of public service, John Marshall was elected a U.S. Congressman from Virginia, and became Secretary of State under President John Adams. John Adams nominated John Marshall to the Supreme Court, where, on February 4, 1801, he swore in as the fourth Chief Justice.

Marshall served 34 years on the Supreme Court, which met in the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building.

John Marshall was the longest serving Chief Justice, being on the Supreme Court during the administrations of:

• John Adams,
• Thomas Jefferson,
• James Madison,
• James Monroe,
• John Quincy Adams, and
• Andrew Jackson.

Every Supreme Court session opens with the invocation: “God save the United States and this Honorable Court.”

John Marshall decided in favor of the Cherokee Indian nation, stating the Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional and that Indians should be allowed to stay in Georgia.

The Indian Removal Act had been hurriedly pushed through a Democrat controlled Congress in 1830. Protesting the Indian Removal Act were Christian missionaries led by Jeremiah Evarts, being joined by New Jersey Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen and Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett.

Despite Marshall’s decision favoring the Indians in Worcester v. Georgia, 1832, the Supreme Court had to rely on the President to enforce its decision.

Democrat President Andrew Jackson refused, as the popular apocryphal quote attributed to him was:  “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”

The Federal Government proceeded to send in the military to forcibly remove over 46,000 Native Americans from their homes and relocate them west. This left 25 million acres vacant in the Democrat-controlled South into which slavery could be expanded.

John Marshall helped write over 1,000 decisions, advancing the trend of “judicial review.” A Federalist, John Marshall was at the fulcrum of balancing the separate powers of government with the need to respond to immediate issues to keep the country united, often rendering decisions favoring a more powerful Federal Government.

Other famous Federalists were:

• Alexander Hamilton
• James Madison,
• John Jay;
• John Adams,
• Fisher Ames,
• Rufus King
• Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
• Thomas Pinckney, and,
• Noah Webster.

Opposite of John Marshall on the political spectrum were the Anti-Federalists who favored reserving more power to the State Governments, such as:

• Thomas Jefferson,
• Patrick Henry,
• Sam Adams,
• George Mason,
• Richard Henry Lee,
• James Monroe,
• Mercy Otis Warren,
• George Clinton, and
• Luther Martin.

Anti-Federalists had the foresight to see that giving the Federal Government more power may solve an immediate problem in the short run, but in the long run it would do irreparable harm to the country’s representative form of government.

George Washington warned of the trend in his Farewell Address, September 19, 1796:  “If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any way particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent – of usurpation – must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient – brief – benefit which the use can at any time yield.”

According to tradition, the Liberty Bell cracked while tolling at John Marshall’s funeral, July 8, 1835.

A hundred years after John Marshall’s death, Chief Justice William Howard Taft initiated the Supreme Court moving out of the basement of the Capitol into its own building in 1935. This coincided with court’s increased trend of usurpation of power from Congress by issuing opinions that effectively legislated from the bench.

A statue of John Marshall is in the lower floor of the Supreme Court Building.

Inside the Supreme Court chamber are Adolph A. Weinman’s marble friezes depicting lawgivers throughout history, including John Marshall.

Also depicted in the frieze is Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

Moses is also in the center above the Supreme Court’s east portico holding two stone tablets.

A story about John Marshall was originally published in the Winchester Republican newspaper, and recounted in Henry Howe’s Historical Collections of Virginia, quoted in The Life of John Marshall, 1845: “There is, too, a story about an astonishing flash of eloquence from Marshall – ‘a streak of vivid lightning’ – at a tavern, on the subject of religion.

The impression made by Marshall on this occasion was heightened by his appearance when he arrived at the inn. he was negligently dressed, his knee buckles loosened.

In the tavern a discussion arose among some young men concerning ‘the merits of the Christian religion.’ The debate grew warm and lasted ‘from six o’clock until eleven.’No one knew Marshall, who sat quietly listening.

Finally one of the youthful combatants turned to him and said: ‘Well, my old gentleman, what think you of these things?’

Marshall responded with a ‘most eloquent and unanswerable appeal.’ He talked for an hour, answering ‘every argument urged against the teachings of Jesus.’ ‘In the whole lecture, there was so much simplicity and energy, pathos and sublimity, that not another word was uttered.’ The listeners wondered who the old man could be.

Some thought him a preacher; and great was their surprise when they learned afterwards that he was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.”

Chief Justice John Marshall commented May 9, 1833, on the pamphlet The Relation of Christianity to Civil Government in the United States written by Rev. Jasper Adams, President of the College of C:harleston, South Carolina:  “Reverend Sir, I am much indebted to you for the copy of your valuable sermon on the relation of Christianity to civil government preached before the convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Charleston, on the 13th of February last. I have read it with great attention and advantage. The documents annexed to the sermon certainly go far in sustaining the proposition which it is your purpose to establish. One great object of the colonial charters was avowedly the propagation of the Christian faith. Means have been employed to accomplish this object, and those means have been used by government.”

John Marshall continued:

“No person, I believe, questions the importance of religion to the happiness of man even during his existence in this world. It has at all times employed his most serious meditation, and had a decided influence on his conduct. The American population is entirely Christian, and with us, Christianity and Religion are identified. It would be strange, indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did not presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to it, and exhibit relations with it. Legislation on the subject is admitted to require great delicacy, because freedom of conscience and respect for our religion both claim our most serious regard. You have allowed their full influence to both. With very great respect, I am Sir, your Obedient, J. Marshall.”

U.S. Attorney General Wayne MacVeagh concluded made these remarks on John Marshall Day, February 4, 1901:

“Let us, on this day of all days acknowledge that nations cannot live by bread alone … We have heretofore cherished, the Christian ideal of true national greatness; and our fidelity to that ideal, however imperfect it has been, entitled us in some measure to the divine blessing, for having offered an example to the world for more than an entire generation of how a nation could marvelously increase in wealth and strength and all material prosperity while living in peace with all mankind.

We all believe that the true glory of America and her true mission in this century is: to stand fast by Christ and his Gospel. In cherishing this we are wholly in the spirit of the great Chief Justice John Marshall; and so effectually honor his memory.

Ron

The Bible says: Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

(“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”)

At some point, we all wrestle with why God allows us to suffer and we wonder if it’s because He no longer loves us. But the truth is, some of the greatest lessons we ever learn come as the result of hardships. During those painful times, if we’ll cling to the Father, we’ll gain tremendous insight into His heart and mind.

Friend, when you experience trials, realize that God doesn’t want to hurt you. Rather he has great things He wants to teach you, lessons that, unfortunately, can only be learned through sorrow. So when trouble strikes, be still and ask the Lord to show you what you can learn through the situation.

Your Savior is here—right now, right beside you. Your loving heavenly Father is beckoning to you, asking you to draw near and learn His ways. So call on Him. He will answer you. and He will teach you great and mighty things that you need to know.

Pray: Father, what would You have me learn through my heartache? Teach me, my Lord—I am listening. Amen.

The Bible says: 1 Corinthians 12:7 NIT

(“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”)

God dosen’t act in a haphazard manner—He plans. And just as he strategically formed creation, He designed you carefully and gave you everything needed to carry out a specific purpose.

The father has endowed you with distintive gifts and talents to fulfill your spiritual role in edifying the body of Christ. The Lord does this, not only to bless others and glorify His name, but to help you feel accepted, needed, and worthwhile by making you an integral part of His work.

So what did God have in mind when He created you—when He planned your purpose and gave you spiritual gifts? One thing is certain—if you ask Him. He’ll not only tell you, but He will reveal the place where He wants you to serve.

So honor your heavenly Father by surrendering yourself to His plan and exercising your gifts in the service of other believers. It was the path you were created for and how you’ll experience the depth of His joy, peace, and fulfillment.

Pray: Father, thank You for the gifts You’ve given me and the wonderful plan You have for my life. Help me serve You faithfully. Amen.

(When Ronald Reagan became President, our country was at a dangerous crossroads time. As a result, there were so many prayer groups seeking divine guidance for him, that I am positive that those prayers were answered. He was given divine guidance. At the present time for our country with so many seeking to plunge us into the abyse of Socialism and Marxism I am convinced that it is very pertinent for us to visit again many of the thoughts and the wisdom that I am sure God gave Ronald Reagan. Below, I have compiled some of them for you see and consider. Do read them for sure.)

Reagan was born February 6, 1911.                                            

His family lived in Dixon, Illinois, 1920-1923.

A graduate of Eureka College, IL, 1932 where he played football.

He worked as a life guard, having 77 rescues. He then announced for a radio stations in Iowa.

He became a sports announcer for WHO radio, covering Chicago Cubs baseball games, and then traveled with the team.

While with the Cubs in California, Ronald Reagan auditioned with Warner Brothers, landing a contract doing “B films.”

He was a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

During his career as an actor, Ronald Reagan appeared in over 50 films, including:

• Dark Victory;
• Knute Rockne,
• All American;
• This is the Army, and
• Kings Row.

He married Jane Wyman in 1940, and had children Maureen, Christine (died a day old) and Michael (adopted).

Reagan was elected President of the Screen Actors Guild.

His second marriage was to Nancy Davis in 1952, and they had children Patti and Ron.
He switched from Democrat to Republican, and was elected Governor of California, 1967-1975.

When he began running for President, some conservatives did not support him because he was the first Presidential candidate who had been divorced.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th U.S. President, being one of the oldest elected to that office. He was 69 years old when elected, and 69 days after his inauguration, he survived an assassination attempt.

(And now come some of his thoughts and principles that I am sure came from God:)

Ronald Reagan stated in 1961: “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project.

James Madison in 1788 said:  ‘There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations’. What can we do about this? We can write to our congressmen and our senators. Say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms.

We do not want socialized medicine.

If you don’t, this program I promise you will pass, and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known, until, one day we will awake to find that we have socialism. And you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.”

At St. John’s University in New York, March 28, 1985, Reagan repeated one of President Gerald Ford’s famous phrases:

“Government that is big enough to give you everything you want is more likely to simply take everything you’ve got.”

Reagan remarked to the Heritage Council, Warren, Michigan, October 10, 1984:

“Henry David Thoreau was right: that government is best which governs least.”

In his 1964 speech, “A Time for Choosing,” Ronald Reagan stated: “I suggest to you there is no left or right, only an up or down. Up to the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism; and regardless of their humanitarian purpose, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have, whether they know it or not, chosen this downward path.”

On March 20, 1981, at the Conservative Political Action Conference Dinner, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, Ronald Reagan stated: “Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. That’s why the Marxist vision of man without God must eventually be seen as an empty and a false faith, the second oldest in the world, first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden with whispered words: ‘Ye shall be as gods.’

The crisis of the Western world exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God.”

Reagan stated at the Brandenburg Gate, June 12, 1987, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

The movie, Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid, released in 2024, is based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.

Reagan stated in Beijing, China, April 27, 1984: I have seen the rise of fascism and communism. Both philosophies glorify the arbitrary power of the state. But both theories fail. Both deny those God-given liberties that are the inalienable right of each person on this planet. Indeed, they deny the existence of God.”

In his autobiography, An American Life (Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 409), Reagan warned of the danger of Islamic fundamentalists acquiring nuclear weapons:

“Radical fundamentalist sects have institutionalized murder and terrorism in the name of God, promising followers instant entry into paradise if they die for their faith or kill an enemy who challenges it.

Twice in recent years, America has lost loyal allies in the Middle East, the shah of Iran and Anwar Sadat, at the hands of these fanatics.

I don’t think you can overstate the importance that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism will have to the rest of the world in the century ahead, especially if, as seems possible, its most fanatical elements get their hands on nuclear and chemical weapons and the means to deliver them against their enemies.”

On May 17, 1982, in a proposed Constitutional Amendment on Prayer in Schools, President Reagan stated: “Our liberty springs from and depends upon an abiding faith in God.”

On February 3, 1983, President Reagan signed Proclamation 5018 (97 STAT. 1545) designating 1983 the Year of the Bible: “By the President of the United States of America, A Proclamation: Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible. Deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible inspired many of the early settlers of our country, providing them with the strength, character, convictions, and faith necessary to withstand great hardship and danger in this new and rugged land.

These shared beliefs helped forge a sense of common purpose among the widely dispersed colonies — a sense of community which laid the foundation for the spirit of nationhood that was to develop in later decades.

The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers’ abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible’s teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual.

This same sense of man patterned the convictions of those who framed the English system of law inherited by our own Nation, as well as the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

For centuries the Bible’s emphasis on compassion and love for our neighbor has inspired institutional and governmental expressions of benevolent outreach such as private charity, the establishment of schools and hospitals, and the abolition of slavery.”

Reagan’s Proclamation continued:

“Many of our greatest national leaders — among them Presidents Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, and Wilson — have recognized the influence of the Bible on our country’s development.

The plainspoken Andrew Jackson referred to the Bible as no less than ‘the rock on which our Republic rests.’

Today our beloved America and, indeed, the world, is facing a decade of enormous challenge. As a people we may well be tested as we have seldom, if ever, been tested before.

We will need resources of spirit even more than resources of technology, education, and armaments.

There could be no more fitting moment than now to reflect with gratitude, humility, and urgency upon the wisdom revealed to us in the writing that Abraham Lincoln called ‘the best gift God has ever given to man. But for it we could not know right from wrong.’

The Congress of the United States, in recognition of the unique contribution of the Bible in shaping the history and character of this Nation, and so many of its citizens, has requested the President to designate the year 1983 as the ‘Year of the Bible.’

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States.

I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventh. RONALD REAGAN”

President Reagan told the National Religious Broadcasters, January 30, 1984: “I was pleased last year to proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible. But, you know, a group called the ACLU severely criticized me for doing that. Well, I wear their indictment like a badge of honor. I believe I stand in pretty good company. Abraham Lincoln called the Bible ‘the best gift God has given to man. But for it,’ he said, ‘we could not know right from wrong.'”

On October 13, 1983, in a Q & A session with women leaders of Christian religious organizations, President Ronald Reagan stated: “As I’m president, your group and others who stand up for our Judeo-Christian values will be welcomed here, because you belong here. No greater truth shines through than the one you live by every day: that preserving America must begin with faith in the God who has blessed our land. And we don’t have the answers; He does. Isaiah reminded us that ‘the Lord opens His gates and keeps in peace the nation that trusts in Him.’

He added:

“Nelle Reagan, my mother, God rest her soul, had an unshakable faith in God’s goodness. And while I may not have realized it in my youth, I know now that she planted that faith very deeply in me. She made the most difficult Christian message seem very easy. And, like you, she knew you could never repay one bad deed with another. Her way was forgiveness and goodness, and both began with love. Well, thanks to Nelle Reagan, I believe in intercessory prayer. And I know that those prayers are giving me strength that I otherwise would not possess.”

He continued:

“The Founding Fathers believed that faith in God was the key to our being a good people and America’s becoming a great nation. George Washington kissed the Bible at his inauguration. And to those who would have government separate from religion, he had these words: ‘Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.'”

Reagan continued:

“And Benjamin Franklin, at the time when they were struggling with what was to be the American Constitution, finally one day said to those who were working with him that, ‘Without God’s help, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.’ And if we ever forget that, we’re lost.”

Reagan stated further:

“I pray that we won’t lose that idea, and that’s why I was motivated to proclaim or designate 1983 the Year of the Bible. And I hope we will also recognize the true meaning of the First Amendment. Its words were meant to guarantee freedom of religion to everyone. But I believe the First Amendment has been twisted to the point that freedom of religion is in danger of becoming freedom from religion.”

Reagan concluded:

“Finally, let me just say a few words about another part of freedom that is under siege: the sanctity of human life. Either the law protects human beings, or it doesn’t. Will she be denied her chance for love and life because someone decides she’s too weak to warrant our help, or because someone has taken it upon himself or herself to decide the quality of her life doesn’t justify keeping her alive? Is that not God’s decision to make? And isn’t it our duty to serve even the least of these, for in so doing we serve Him?”

Reagan wrote in his article, “Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation,” The Human Life Review, 1983: “Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should be slaves. Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion.”

On January 31, 1983, at the annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters, President Ronald Reagan stated: “Let us come together, Christians and Jews, let us pray together, march, lobby, and mobilize every force we have, so that we can end the tragic taking of unborn children’s lives. Who among us can imagine the excruciating pain the unborn must feel as their lives are snuffed away? I read in the Washington Post about a young woman named Victoria. She’s with child, and she said, ‘In this society we save whales, we save timber wolves and bald eagles and Coke bottles. Yet everyone wanted me to throw away my baby.’ Well, Victoria’s story has a happy ending. Her baby will be born. Victoria has received assistance from a Christian couple, and from Sav-ALife, a new Dallas group run by Jim McKee. They’re living the meaning of the two great commandments: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might’ and ‘Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.'”

Reagan continued:

“When Americans reach out for values of faith, family, and caring for the needy, they’re saying, ‘We want the Word of God. We want to face the future with the Bible.’ We’re blessed to have its words of strength, comfort, and truth. I’m accused of being simplistic at times with some of the problems that confront us. But I’ve often wondered: Within the covers of that single Book are all the answers to all the problems that face us today, if we’d only look there. ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever.’

It’s my firm belief that the enduring values, as I say, presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation. The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, refresh our souls.

Now, I realize it’s fashionable in some circles to believe that no one in government should encourage others to read the Bible. We’re told that will violate the constitutional separation of church and state established by the founding fathers in the First Amendment.

Well, it might interest those critics to know that none other than the father of our country, George Washington, kissed the Bible at his inauguration. And he also said words to the effect that there could be no real morality in a society without religion.

John Adams called it ‘the best book in the world,’ and Ben Franklin said, the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little, partial, local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach, a bye-word down to future ages’.”

Reagan added:

“All of us, as Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, have a special responsibility to remember our fellow believers who are being persecuted in other lands. We’re all children of Abraham. We’re children of the same God. This year, for the first time in history, the Voice of America broadcast a religious service worldwide – Christmas Eve at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.

Now, these broadcasts are not popular with governments of totalitarian power. But make no mistake, we have a duty to broadcast.

Aleksandr Herzen, the Russian writer, warned, ‘To shrink from saying a word in defense of the oppressed is as bad as any crime.’

Well, I pledge to you that America will stand up, speak out, and defend the values we share. To those who would crush religious freedom, our message is plain: You may jail your believers. You may close their churches, confiscate their Bibles, and harass their rabbis and priests, but you will never destroy the love of God and freedom that burns in their hearts. They will triumph over you.”

Continuing his address to the National Religious Broadcasters, Reagan stated: “Malcolm Muggeridge, the brilliant English commentator, has written, ‘The most important happening in the world today is the resurgence of Christianity in the Soviet Union, demonstrating that the whole effort sustained over sixty years to brainwash the Russian people into accepting materialism has been a fiasco.’

Think of it: the most awesome military machine in history, but it is no match for that one single man, hero, strong yet tender, Prince of Peace. His name alone, Jesus, can lift our hearts, soothe our sorrows, heal our wounds, and drive away our fears. With His message and with your conviction and commitment, we can still move mountains.”

Reagan concluded:

“Before I say goodbye, I wanted to leave with you these words from an old Netherlands folk song, because they made me think of our meeting here today:

‘We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,

And pray that Thou still our Defender wilt be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation:

Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!’

To which I would only add a line from another song:

‘America, America, God shed His grace on thee.’”

Ronald Reagan addressed Temple Hillel and Community Leaders in Valley Stream, October 26, 1984: “And we’re also remembering the guiding light of our Judeo-Christian tradition. All of us here today are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sons and daughters of the same God. I believe we are bound by faith in our God, by our love for family and neighborhood,by our deep desire for a more peaceful world, and by our commitment to protect the freedom which is our legacy as Americans.”

On August 7, 1982, President Reagan wrote a letter to his dying, atheist Father-in-Law, Dr. Loyal Davis, and with all those fancy secretaries, he wrote it with his own hand:

“Dear Loyal,

I hope you’ll forgive me for this, but I’ve been wanting to write you ever since we talked on the phone. I am aware of the strain you are under and believe with all my heart there is help for that.

First I want to tell you of a personal experience I’ve kept to myself for a long time. During my first year as Governor you’ll recall the situation I found in Calif. was almost as bad as the one in Wash. today. It seemed as if the problems were endless and insolvable.

Then I found myself with an ulcer. In all those years at Warner Bros., no one had been able to give me an ulcer and I felt ashamed as if it were a sign of weakness on my part. Dr. John Sharpe had me on Malox and I lived with a constant pain that ranged from discomfort to extremely sharp attacks.

This went on for months. I had a bottle of Maalox in my desk, my briefcase and of course at home. Then one morning I got up, went into the bathroom, reached for the bottle as always and some thing happened. I knew I didn’t need it. I had gone to bed with the usual pain the night before but I knew that morning I was healed. The Malox went back on the shelf. That morning when I arrived at the office Helene brought me my mail.

That morning when I arrived at the office Helene brought me my mail.

The first letter I opened was from a lady — a stranger — in the Southern part of the state. She had written to tell me she was one of a group who met every day to pray for me. Believe it or not, the second letter was from a man, again a stranger, in the other end of the state telling me he was part of a group that met weekly to pray for me.

Within the hour a young fellow from the legal staff came into my office on some routine matter. On the way out he paused in the door and said: ‘Gov. I think maybe you’d like to know — some of us on the staff come in early every morning and get together to pray for you.’

Coincidence? I don’t think so. A couple of weeks later Nancy and I went down to L.A. and had our annual checkup. John Sharpe, a little puzzled, told me I no longer had an ulcer but added there was no indication I’d ever had one. Word of honor — I never told him about that particular day in Sacramento.”

He continued:

“There is a line in the Bible — ‘Where ever two or more are gathered in my name there will I be also.’

Loyal I know of your feeling — your doubt but could I just impose on you a little longer?

Some seven hundred years before the birth of Christ the ancient Jewish prophets predicted the coming of a Messiah. They said he would be born in a lowly place, would proclaim himself the Son of God and would be put to death for saying that.

All in all there were a total of one hundred and twenty three specific prophesies about his life all of which came true. Crucifixion was unknown in those times, yet it was foretold that he would be nailed to a cross of wood. And one of the predictions was that he would be born of a Virgin.”

Reagan ended his letter to his father-in-law:

Now I know that is probably the hardest for you as a Dr. to accept. The only answer that can be given is — a miracle.

But Loyal I don’t find that as great a miracle as the actual history of his life. Either he was who he said he was or he was the greatest faker & charlatan who ever lived. But would a liar & faker suffer the death he did when all he had to do to save himself was admit he’d been lying?

The miracle is that a young man of 30 yrs. without credentials as a scholar or priest began preaching on street corners. He owned nothing but the clothes on his back & he didn’t travel beyond a circle less than one hundred miles across. He did this for only 3 years and then was executed as a common criminal.

But for two thousand years he has had more impact on the world than all the teachers, scientists, emperors, generals and admirals who ever lived, all put together.

The apostle John said, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that who so ever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life.’

We have been promised that all we have to do is ask God in Jesus name to help when we have done all we can — when we’ve come to the end of our strength and abilities and we’ll have that help. We only have to trust and have faith in his infinite goodness and mercy.

Loyal, you and Edith have known a great love — more than many have been permitted to know. That love will not end with the end of this life. We’ve been promised this is only a part of life and that a greater life, a greater glory awaits us. It awaits you together one day and all that is required is that you believe and tell God you put yourself in his hands.

Love,

Ronnie.”

At Reunion Arena in Dallas, 1984, Ronald Reagan stated: Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience, without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure.

America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under.”

At the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series, 1982, he stated: “We can’t have it both ways. We can’t expect God to protect us in a crisis and just leave Him over there on the shelf in our day-to-day living.

I wonder if sometimes He isn’t waiting for us to wake up, He may be running out of patience.”

Ron

–

The Bible says: James 4:8 NIT

(“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”)

God wants to build an intimaate relationship with you, but do you desire the same thing? The intimate moments you share with the Savior, worshipping Him, sensing His closeness, and experessing your love for Him—are the very times when He reveals Himself to you. In fact, Exodus 33:11 describes the conversations God had with Moses “as one speaks to a frined.” The word friend here means “intimate companion.” This is the kind of relationship He desires to have with you as well.

The Lord never intended for you to merely know about Him. He wants you to know His ways and His unconditional love for you on a deeply personal level as you go through life, to see Him as your unfailing Companion and wonderful Friend.

Therefore, draw closer to the Father in fellowship. Because when you do, You’ll trust Him more deeply and share the feelings and challenges you face with Him more openly. And you will get to know Him as Moses did, as your truly intimate, trustworthy Friend, who lovess you, provides for you, and knows you best.

Pray: Lord draw me close. May Your sweet Spirit guide all my ways. Amen.

The Liberty Bell, weighing over 2,000 pounds, was cast in England in August of 1752.

Inscribed on The Liberty Bell is:

“PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE THE INHABITANTS THEREOF.” (Leviticus 25:10)

The Liberty Bell got its name from being rung JULY 8, .1776, to call the citizens of Philadelphia together to hear the Declaration of Independence read out loud for the first time.

A copy of the Declaration was rushed to General Washington in New York, who had it read out loud to his troops, July 9, 1776.

Washington then immediately appointed chaplains to each regiment, ordering that: “Officers and soldiers attend carefully upon religious exercises. The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger. The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavor so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier, defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.”

During the Revolution, British Admiral Richard Howe’s ships transported the army under the command of his brother, General William Howe, to invade Philadelphia in September of 1777. The Liberty Bell was rushed out of the city to prevent the British from melting it down to make musket balls.

Transported on a wagon covered under hay and manure to prevent the British from spotting it, the Liberty Bell was brought to Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The church’s floorboards were temporarily removed to lower it into the basement. Finally, the British forces under General Howe evacuated Philadelphia and the Liberty Bell was returned in June of 1778.

It was rung every anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The most common story is that the Liberty Bell cracked JULY 8, 1835, while being rung at the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshall, perhaps as a portent.

John Marshall, the longest-serving Chief Justice, began the trend of increasing the Supreme Court’s power by using an expansive reading of the enumerated powers, thereby advancing the view of the supremacy of the Supreme Court through “judicial review.” This pattern has been observed throughout history, where good leaders concentrate power to be more efficient in doing good, but after they are gone, ambitious leaders inherit the concentrated power and use it oppressively.

Joseph in Egypt helped concentrate power into the hands of the Pharaoh who used it for good, providing food for the Children of Israel, giving them the best land of Goshen, and even giving them jobs taking care of his cattle. Then there was a new Pharaoh “who did not know Joseph,” and he used the concentrated power to oppress the Children of Israel.

Thomas Jefferson had warned Mr. Hammond, 1821: “The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the federal judiciary, working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States.”

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defined “usurp” as: USURP, verb transitive. [Latin usurpo.] To seize and hold in possession by force or without right; as, to usurp a throne; to usurp the prerogatives of the crown; to usurp power. To usurp the right of a patron, is to oust or dispossess him. Vice sometimes usurps the place of virtue.

Thomas Jefferson explained to Supreme Court Justice William Johnson, June 12, 1823: “On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”

James Madison wrote to Henry Lee, June 25, 1824: “I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution. And if that be not the guide in expounding it, there can be no security for a consistent and stable exercise of its powers. What a metamorphosis would be produced in the code of law if all its ancient phraseology were to be taken in its modern sense.”

As the Quakers of Pennsylvania were anti-slavery, and the the Leviticus 25 Year of Jubilee freed the slaves, the Liberty Bell became an anti-slavery symbol. It was popularized by the New York Anti-Slavery Society’s journal, Anti-Slavery Record.

In 1839, Boston’s abolitionist society Friends of Liberty titled their journal The Liberty Bell. Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison’s anti-slavery publication The Liberator helped promote The Liberty Bell as an symbol to fight slavery in the Democrat South.

Black Republican Frederick Douglass stated at the Southern Loyalists’ Convention in Philadelphia, 1866: “I ask you to adopt the principles proclaime by yourselves, by your revolutionary fathers, and by the old bell in Independence Hall.”

Nelson Mandela was awarded the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia, July 4, 1993. He spoke of: “the durability of the glorious vision that gave birth to the independence of this country and to the United States Constitution. The Liberty Bell is a very significant symbol for the entire democratic world.”

(The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 4, 1993) Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., made reference to the bell ringing freedom in his “I Have A Dream” speech, August 28, 1963:

“When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God’s children. I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

Rev. King vocalized opposition to views such as critical race theory, which divide people based on race: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.”

A Republican, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., condemned the “vicious racist” views of Democrat Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who refused to integrate schools: “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

Rev. King quoted from the prophet Isaiah: “I have a dream that one day ‘every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together’ (Isaiah 40:4-5). With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together.”

King quoted from the patriotic song “America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)” written in 1831 by Rev. Samuel Francis Smith, pastor of Boston’s Park Street Church: “This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, ‘My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!’

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’”

Rev. King referred to a Negro Spiritual published by John Wesley Work, Jr., in New Jubilee Songs and Folk Songs of the American Negro, 1907):

Free at last, free at last. I thank God I’m free at last. Free at last, free at last.

I I I I thank God I’m free at last.

Way down yonder in the graveyard walk

I thank God I’m free at last.

Me and my Jesus going to meet and talk

I thank God I’m free at last.

On my knees when the light pass’d by

I thank God I’m free at last.

Tho’t my soul would rise and fly

I thank God I’m free at last.

I thank God I’m free at last.

Goin’ meet King Jesus in the air Some of these mornings, bright and fair

I thank God I’m free at last.

At the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge stated: “People at home and abroad consider Independence Hall as hallowed ground and revere the Liberty Bell as a sacred relic. That pile of bricks and mortar, that mass of metal, might appear as only the outgrown meeting place and the shattered bell. But to those who know, they have become consecrated. They are the framework of a spiritual event. The world looks upon them because of their associations of 150 years ago, as it looks upon the Holy Land because of what took place there nineteen hundred years ago.”

Coolidge added:

“The American Revolution represented the convictions of a great mass of independent, liberty-loving, God-fearing people who knew their rights, and possessed the courage to dare to maintain them”

He explained further:

“In the great outline of its principles the DECLARATION was the result of the RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS of the preceding period. The PRINCIPLES which went into the DECLARATION of Independence are found in the texts, the SERMONS, and the writings of the EARLY COLONIAL CLERGY. They preached equality because they believed in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. They justified freedom by the text that we are all created in the divine image. Placing EVERY MAN on a plane where he acknowledged no superiors, WHERE NO ONE POSSESSED ANY RIGHT TO RULE OVER HIM, he must inevitably choose his own rulers through a system of SELF-GOVERNMENT. In order that they might have freedom to express these thoughts and opportunity to put them into action, WHOLE CONGREGATIONS with their PASTORS had migrated to the colonies.”

Coolidge added:

“In its main feature the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE is a great SPIRITUAL DOCUMENT. It is a declaration not of material but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, LIBERTY, popular sovereignty, the rights of man — these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their SOURCE and their roots in the RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS. They belong to the unseen world.”

Sir William Blackstone wrote in Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769), which was the definitive pre-Revolutionary source of common law by United States courts: “Of great importance to the public is the preservation of this personal liberty; for if once it were left in the power of any the highest magistrate to imprison arbitrarily whomever he or his officers thought proper there would soon be an end of all other rights.”

Coolidge concluded his address:

“UNLESS the faith of the American in these RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS is to endure, the principles of OUR DECLARATION WILL PERISH. We cannot continue to enjoy the RESULT if we neglect and abandon the CAUSE of God.”

Ron

—

Download as PDF …

The Bible says:  John 17:21 NIT

(“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.”)

Jesus often went to the Father with concerns and petitions; and like Him we are encouraged to make our requests known to God in all circumstances. We are to come boldly before the Lord with our specific needs—not timidly.

Friend, through Christ, your spirit has been forever joined to the One who has all answers, all solutions, all provision, all blessings. Therefore, your mind should be focused on the God who saves, delivers, heals, redeems, and restores you, regardless of your circumstances. He multiplies your resources provides you ways you cannot even imagine, and is able to work miraculously on your behalf.

So pray! Turn your attention to the Father, who knows all controls all, has all power, and is all loving. He will help you be one with Him through the Spirit and walk according to His will. Thanks be to the Lord Jesus, whose ultimate sacrifice now allows us to this sort of access!

Pray:  Lord Jesus, thank You for making me one with You and giving me unlimited access to Your throne of grace, Amen.

(We hear so very much about America’s Revolutionary War and all the wars since. However, we hear little about Her war with Spain. Most of its fighting and its conclusion took place in Cuba. It was very important to our history, and it gave us the Philippines among other places. I have told you about it below. Do read it.)

Slavery existed in Cuba longer than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere, except Brazil.

Slaves were purchased from Africa where Arab Muslim slave traders had enslaved an estimated 180 million blacks over the fourteen centuries of Islamic rule.

President James Buchanan wrote December 19, 1859:

“When a market for African slaves shall no longer be furnished in Cuba. Then Christianity and civilization may gradually penetrate the existing gloom.”

President Ulysses S. Grant, who fought to end slavery in America, stated, December 2, 1872:

“Slavery in Cuba is a terrible evil. It is greatly to be hoped that Spain will voluntarily adopt emancipation in sympathy with the other powers of the Christian and civilized world.”

Cuban Independence movements were attempted in the 1820s and 1830s, but these were crushed by the Spanish monarchy.

On October 10, 1868, landowner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes freed his slaves and declared Cuba’s independence from Spain.

Cubans drafted a “10th of October Manifesto,” 1868:  “Rebelling against Spanish tyranny, we want to indicate to the world the reasons Spain governs us with iron and blood; it imposes taxes at will; it deprives us of all political, civil and religious freedom; it has put us under military watch in days of peace, arresting, exiling and executing, without being subject to any proceedings, it prohibits that we freely assemble.”

The “10th of October Manifesto” continued:

“Spain loads us with hungry bureaucrats who live from our patrimony and consume the product of our work, so that we do not know our rights, it maintains us in the ignorance. It forces us to maintain a expensive army, whose unique use is to repress and to humiliate us. To the God of our consciousness we appealed, and to the good faith of the civilized nations.”

The “10th of October Manifesto” ended:

“We want to enjoy the freedom for whose use God created man. We want to abolish slavery. We want freedom of meeting, freedom of the press and the freedom to brings back consciousness; and we appeal to practice inalienable rights of the man.”

In 1878, the Spanish Government crushed the revolt and ended “The Ten Years War” in which thousands were killed.

Under international pressure, Spain ended slavery by Royal decree in 1886.

Another “Little War” took place in 1879, and finally, in 1895, open rebellion broke out.

Spain sent Governor Valeriano Weyler to Cuba to smash anti-government protestors. Weyler adapted the model of interring Cherokee used during Democrat Administration’s of Jackson and Van Buren in the 1830s, called the Indian Removal Act.

Weyler adapted this into notorious “concentration camps.” Weyler rounded up hundreds of thousands of Cuban civilians from their rural farms and marched them into crowded camps — an example later followed by Hitler’s National Socialist Workers Party and Stalin’s Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Ultimately, between 1896-1897, over a third of Cuba’s population was in concentration camps. Over 225,000 died from starvation, exposure and yellow fever. Continual pleas for help reached the United States. Newspaper publishers made pioneering use of sensationalism and propaganda to influence public policy. Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal, stirred public sentiment with “yellow press” journalism, demanding President McKinley intervene militarily.

Heart’s newspaper illustrator was Frederic Remington, who was on assignment in Cuba. He sent a cable message in 1897: “Everything quiet. There is no trouble here. There will be no war. Wish to return.”

Hearst cabled back: “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”

President McKinley responded by sending the USS Maine to Havana’s harbor. The ship blew up under suspicious conditions on February 15, 1898.

President McKinley approved a Resolution of Congress, April 20, 1898:  “Whereas the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three years in the island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the moral sense of the people of the United States, and have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating, as they have, in the destruction of a United States battle ship, with 266 of its officers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives that the people of the island of Cuba are and of right ought to be free.”

Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, resigned and organized the first volunteer cavalry, made up of polo riders, cowboys and even Indians to go and help. 

The U.S. Army used the Gatling Gun for the first time in mobile offensive combat.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, along with other regiments, charged up Cuba’s Kettle Hill, then San Juan Hill, capturing it on JULY 1, 1898.

The Rough Riders left over half of their numbers back in Florida, and they never got into the fight. They also left almost all of their horses back in Florida, even though all of the Rough Riders were very skilled horsemen and highly trained to fight only on horseback.

So, the very effective fighting that they did do, such as storming up those hills under heavy fire, was most all done from on foot, even though that “hodgepodge” of tough men had no experience fighting on foot. They did it anyway. They were really tough dudes.

They all vehemently acknowledged that those gatling guns thumping continuously over their heads made all the difference in the battle.

Teddy Rosavelt was outranked by three other regular army officers, but they were not even close to ‘getting the job done,’ so he took command and rallied the fighting men and highly inspired them to charge up those hills under heavy fire against the odds from those highly trained Spanish troops.

The Rough Riders were well armed with the best carbines of the day and each was given a 50 caliber pistol. Yet, the Spanish had rifles that could fire 20 rounds a minute, and would have mowed-down those Rough Riders except for those gatling guns and the two machine guns they had that had just been invented.

After eight hours of heavy fighting there were over 1,500 American casualties.

One of the officers, Lt. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, later rose to the highest American rank ever, “General of the Armies.”

Pershing wrote:

“The entire command moved forward as coolly as though the buzzing of bullets was the humming of bees, white regiments, black regiments, regulars and Rough Riders, representing the young manhood of the North and the South, fought shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of race or color, unmindful of whether commanded by ex-Confederate or not, and mindful of only their common duty as Americans.”

Among the thousands of Americans who volunteered for service during the Spanish American War were 5,000 black soldiers called “Buffalo Soldiers,” a name given to them by the Indians.

Other black soldiers were nicknamed “The Immunes” as they were considered more resistant to tropical climate and diseases.

All races were integrated in the U.S. Army until Democrat President Woodrow Wilson segregated blacks and whites in 1914.

Casualties of the Spanish-American War included:

• 379 Americans killed,
• 1,645 wounded, and
• 2,621 who died of disease.

On the Spanish side:

• 1,000 killed,
• 800 wounded and
• 15,000 died of disease. The large numbers dying of yellow fever led Army physician Walter Reed to conduct research and confirm the disease was spread by mosquitoes.

This discovery led to methods to control the insects, which later allowed for the construction of the Panama Canal.

Sick and wounded soldiers were cared for by Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, and an order of Catholic Sisters referred to as a Band of Angels.

After the War, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were no longer controlled by Spain, but by America.

President McKinley wrote, July 6, 1898:

“At a time of the glorious achievements of the naval and military arms at Santiago de Cuba, it is fitting that we should pause and reverently bow before the throne of divine grace and give devout praise to God, who holdeth the nations in the hollow of His Hands.”

Ron

The Bible says in: Psalm 18:16-19 and 139:14

(He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but he Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighed in me. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works: and that my soul knoweth right well.)

Scripture contains many stories of people who waited years before God’s promises came to pass. Waiting upon the Lord develops character and deepens our trust in Him.

Today let’s look at David. He was the chosen heir to Isreal’s throne, but he spent years dodging King Saul’s wrathful pursuit. Despit having two different opportunities for vengence, David resisted the temptation and spared Saul’s life. He chose to adhere to God’s timetable for his coronation instead of dishonoring the Lord by killing the divinely anointed king.

As shown above, Davie reveals his intimate awareness of the Lord’s work in his life. The shepherd king not only ascended the throne through patience; he also learned God’s way is always best. He grew in his commitment to tust the Lord rather than force outcomes through his own actions.

We cannot rush God’s timing, and our patient endurance dosen’t earn His favor; that’s already ours through grace. But waiting on the Lord does transform us. David didn’t receive his blessings because he was special or because he earned them through patience. He received them because God is faithrul to His promises. And that same faithfulness extends to us as we learn to wait on Him.

Ron

(From the times of the Pilgrims all the way to today it has been the custom in America to invoke the help and intervention of Almighty God in times of peril and calamity and even thanksgiving. The whole nation was called to prayer and humiliation before Almighty God. These times were so very important to our nation that I have chronicled a list of them below. Do read them and know of our country’s reliance upon Almighty God.)

In Alexander Young’s Chronicles of the Pilgrims, (Boston, 1841), Edward Winslow recounted: “Drought and the like moved not only every good man privately to enter into examination with his own estate between God and his conscience, and so to humiliation before Him, but also to humble ourselves together before the Lord by Fasting and Prayer.”

Beginning in colonial times, Connecticut proclaimed a day Beginning in early spring for Fasting and Prayer, customarily Good Friday. 

In 1668, the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown passed: “The 27th of August appointed for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, to implore God’s mercy: if any person be found upon that day gaming, drinking, or working, works of necessity excepted, upon presentment by church-wardens and proof, he shall be fined.”

In 1746, French Admiral d’Anville sailed for New England, commanding the most powerful fleet of the day, 70 ships with 13,000 troops. He intended to recapture Louisburg, Nova Scotia, and destroy from Boston to New York, down to Georgia.

Massachusetts Governor William Shirley declared a Day of Prayer and Fasting, October 16, 1746. In Boston’s Old South Meeting House, Rev. Thomas Prince prayed: “Send Thy tempest, Lord, upon the water, scatter the ships of our tormentors!”

Historian Catherine Drinker Bowen related that as he finished praying, the sky darkened, winds shrieked and church bells rang “a wild, uneven sound, though no man was in the steeple.”

A hurricane scattered the entire French fleet. With 4,000 sick and 2,000 dead, including Admiral d’Anville; French Vice-Admiral d’Estournelle threw himself on his sword. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in his Ballad of the French Fleet: “Admiral d’Anville had sworn by cross and crown, to ravage with fire and steel our helpless Boston Town. From mouth to mouth spread tidings of dismay, I stood in the Old South saying humbly: ‘Let us pray!’ Like a potter’s vessel broke, the great ships of the line, were carried away as smoke or sank in the brine.”

As French and Spanish raids increased, Ben Franklin proposed a General Fast, approved by Pennsylvania’s Council and published in the Pennsylvania Gazette, December 12, 1747: “We have thought fit to appoint a Day of Fasting and Prayer to join with one accord in fervent supplications that Almighty God would mercifully interpose and still the rage of war among the nations and put a stop to the effusion of Christian blood.”

On May 24, 1774, as British blockaded Boston’s Harbor, Jefferson drafted a Resolution for the Virginia House of Burgesses: “With apprehension of the great dangers from the hostile invasion of the City of Boston, in our sister Colony of Massachusetts, I deem it highly necessary that the said first day of June be set apart as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer to implore the Divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights.”

Washington wrote in his diary, June 1, 1774: “Went to church, fasted all day.”

Virginia’s Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, viewed this prayer resolution as a protest against King George so he dissolved the House of Burgesses, resulting in legislators meeting down the street in Raleigh Tavern and planning the Continental Congress.

On April 15, 1775, just four days before the Battle of Lexington, John Hancock led Massachusetts Provincial Congress to declare: In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us, as men and Christians, to reflect that, whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, the 11th of May be set apart as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, to confess our sins, and to implore forgiveness.”

On April 19, 1775, in a Proclamation of a Day of Fasting and Prayer, Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull beseeched that: “God would graciously pour out His Holy Spirit on us to bring us to a thorough repentance and effectual reformation that our iniquities may not be our ruin, and make the land a mountain of Holiness.”

On June 12, 1775, less than two months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, where was fired “the shot heard ‘round the world,” John Hancock led the Continental Congress to declare: “Congress, considering the present critical, alarming and calamitous state, do earnestly recommend a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, that we may with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sin. It is recommended to Christians of all denominations to assemble for public worship and to abstain from servile labor and recreations of said day.”

On July 12, 1775, John Adams wrote to his wife: “We have appointed a Continental fast. Millions will be upon their knees at once before their great Creator, imploring His forgiveness and blessing; His smiles on American Council and arms.”

From his Cambridge headquarters, Washington ordered, March 6, 1776: “Thursday, the 7^th being set apart as a Day of Fasting, Prayer and Humiliation, ‘to implore the Lord and Giver of all victory to pardon our manifold sins and wickedness, and that it would please Him to bless the Continental army with His divine favor and protection.’”

On March 16, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution presented by General William Livingston: “Congress, desirous to have people impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence, recommend a Day of Prayer; that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and, by sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease God’s righteous displeasure, and, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain this pardon and forgiveness.”

On November 11, 1779, Virginia Governor Jefferson proclaimed: “Congress hath thought it proper to recommend a day of public and solemn Thanksgiving to Almighty God. That He would crown our arms with victory; that He would grant to His church, the plentiful effusions of Divine Grace, and pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel, and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth.”

On February 21, 1786, New Hampshire Governor John Langdon proclaimed a Day of Public Fasting and Prayer: “It having been the laudable practice of this State, at the opening of the Spring, to set apart a day to penitently confess their manifold sins and transgressions, that He would be pleased to bless the great Council of the United States of America and that He would rain down righteousness upon the earth, revive religion, and spread abroad the knowledge of the true God, the Savior of man, throughout the world.”

Ben Franklin stated at the Constitutional Convention, 1787: “In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection.”

Ronald Reagan said January 27, 1983: “In 1775, the Continental Congress proclaimed the first National Day of Prayer. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the long, weary Revolutionary War during which a National Day of Prayer had been proclaimed every spring for eight years.”

Yale College had a requirement in 1787: “All the scholars are obliged to attend Divine worship in the College Chapel on the Lord’s Day and on Days of Fasting and Thanksgiving appointed by public authority.”

The same week Congress passed the Bill of Rights, President Washington declared, October 3, 1789: “Whereas both Houses of Congress requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness’. I do recommend the 26th day of November to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”

After the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania, Washington proclaimed a Day of Prayer, January 1, 1796:

“All persons within the United States fervently beseech the kind Author of these blessings to establish habits of sobriety, order, and morality and piety.” 

During the Quasi-War with France, a second Great Awakening revival swept America. President Adams declared on March 23, 1798:  “The people of the United States are still held in jeopardy by insidious acts of a foreign nation, as well as by the dissemination among them of those principles subversive to all religious, moral, and social obligations. I hereby recommend a Day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer; That the citizens  call to mind our numerous offenses against the Most High God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore His pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to His righteous requisitions. ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.’”

James Madison, known as the “Chief Architect of the Constitution,” wrote many of the Federalist Papers to convince the States to ratify the Constitution, and then introduced the First Amendment in the first session of Congress.

During the War of 1812, Madison proclaimed a Day of Prayer:  “Rendering the Sovereign of the Universe public homage, acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke His divine displeasure, seeking His merciful forgiveness, and with a reverence for the unerring precept of our holy religion, to do to others as they would require that others should do to them.”

British soldiers invaded Washington, D.C., August 25, 1814, and burned the White House and Capitol. Suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a tornado touched down sending debris flying, blowing off roofs and knocking down chimneys on British troops. Horse and rider were thrown to the ground. Two cannons were lifted up and dropped yards away.

A British historian wrote:  “More British soldiers were killed by this stroke of nature than from all the firearms the American troops had mustered.”  British forces fled and rains extinguished the fires.

Madison proclaimed, November 16, 1814:  “In the present time of public calamity and war a day may be observed by the people of the United States as a Day of Public Humiliation and Fasting and of Prayer to Almighty God.”

On April 13, 1841, President William Harrison died. President John Tyler issued a Day of Prayer and Fasting:

“When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity, it becomes them to humble themselves under the dispensation of Divine Providence.”

During a cholera epidemic, President Zachary Taylor proclaimed, July 3, 1849:  “A fearful pestilence is spreading itself throughout the land, it is fitting that a people whose reliance has ever been in His protection should humble themselves before His throne, acknowledging past transgressions, ask a continuance of the Divine mercy.  It is earnestly recommended that the first Friday in August be observed throughout the United States as a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer.”

During tensions prior to the Civil War, President Buchanan declared a Day of Prayer and Fasting, December 14, 1860:  “In this the hour of our calamity and peril to whom shall we resort for relief but to the God of our fathers? Let us unite in humbling ourselves before the Most High, confessing our individual and national sins. His omnipotent arm only can save us from the awful effects of our own crimes and follies. Let me invoke every individual to feel a personal responsibility to God and his country for keeping this day holy.”

On August 12, 1861, after the Union lost the Battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln proclaimed:  “It is fit to revere the Supreme Government of God; to bow in humble submission to His chastisement; to confess and deplore their sins and transgressions in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I appoint a Day of Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting for all the people of the nation.”

On March 30, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed a Day of Fasting and Prayer:  “The awful calamity of civil war 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 forgotten God. 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 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.”

After the War, President Andrew Johnson issued, April 29, 1865:  “The 25th day of next month was as a Day for  Prayer in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, but whereas my attention has since been called to the fact that the day is sacred to large numbers of Christians as one of rejoicing for the ascension of the Savior, I do suggest that the religious services recommended as aforesaid should be postponed until the 1st day of June.”

In 1901, when President McKinley was assassinated, President Theodore Roosevelt declared a Day of Prayer:  “President McKinley crowned a life of largest love for his fellow men by a death of Christian fortitude. Now, therefore, I appoint. a Day of Mourning and Prayer throughout the United States, to assemble in their respective places of divine worship, to bow down in submission to the will of Almighty God.”

When the U.S. entered World War One, President Wilson proclaimed May 11, 1918:  “‘In a time of war humbly and devoutly to acknowledge our dependence on Almighty God and to implore His aid and protection, I proclaim a Day of Public Humiliation, Prayer and Fasting, and do exhort my fellow-citizens to pray to Almighty God that He may forgive our sins.”

When President Harding died, Preside Coolidge declared, August 24, 1923:  “I appoint a Day of Mourning and Prayer throughout the United States. I earnestly recommend the people to assemble on that day in their respective places of divine worship, there to bow down in submission to the will of Almighty God.”

During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed, November 12, 1935:  “Let us then on the day appointed offer our devotions and our humble thanks to Almighty God and pray that the people of America will be guided by Him in helping their fellow men.”

When the U.S. entered World War Two, Roosevelt stated December 21, 1941:  “The year 1941 has brought upon our Nation a war of aggression by powers dominated by arrogant rulers whose selfish purpose is to destroy free institutions. Therefore, I do hereby appoint a Day of Prayer, of asking forgiveness for our shortcomings of the past, of consecration to the tasks of the present, of asking God’s help in days to come.'”

During the D-Day invasion, Roosevelt broadcast over radio, June 6, 1941:  “I ask you to join with me in prayer: Almighty God, Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. We know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. Help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.”

After the War, President Truman declared in a Day of Prayer, August 16, 1945:  “This is the end of the schemes of dictators to enslave the peoples of the world. Our global victory has come with the help of God. Let us dedicate ourselves to follow in His ways.”

In 1952, when the Cold War began with the Soviet Union, Truman made the National Day of Prayer an annual observance:  “In times of national crisis when we are striving to strengthen the foundations of peace, we stand in special need of Divine support.”

In 1954, President Eisenhower signed the bill to add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1956, he signed the bill making “In God We Trust” the official National motto; and the bill adding “In God We Trust” to the Nation’s paper currency.

On February 7, 1954, President Eisenhower supported the American Legion “Back-to-God Program broadcasting from the White House:  “As a former soldier, I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives.  In battle, they learned a great truth – that there are no atheists in the foxholes. They know that in time of test and trial, we instinctively turn to God for new courage. Whatever our individual church, whatever our personal creed, our common faith in God is a common bond among us.”

After Apollo 13 had an explosion, President Nixon stated April 19, 1970:  “When we learned of the safe return of our astronauts, I asked that the Nation observe a National Day of Prayer. In these days of growing materialism, deep down there is still a great religious faith in this Nation. I think more people prayed last week than perhaps have prayed in many years in this country. We pray for the assistance of God when faced with great potential tragedy.”

On May 5, 1988, President Reagan made the National Day of Prayer the first Thursday in May, saying:  “Americans in every generation have turned to their Maker in prayer. We have acknowledged our dependence on Almighty God.”

President Bush declared Days of Prayer after the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina, 2005.

President Trump remarked on the National Day of Prayer, May 3, 2018:  “Today, we remember the words of Reverend Graham, “’Prayer is the key that opens to us the treasures of God’s mercies and blessings’. Graham’s words remind us that prayer has always been at the center of American life, because America is a nation of believers.”

Ron