Rededicate 250: One Nation Under God, for the Born and Unborn

“We hereby rededicate the United States of America as ‘one nation under God.’”

So declared our US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, in the late afternoon hours of Sunday, May 17^th, as he led the prayer of rededication of America to God. This was the 250^th anniversary of a day of prayer, fasting, and humility declared by the Second Continental Congress in 1776, just weeks before the Declaration of Independence.

The gates opened at 9am on the National Mall for an event never conducted before: the American people, at the invitation of their President, gathered to rededicate the nation to God. From morning to evening, pastors, government officials, military bands, university choirs, and ordinary American citizens came to the stage to sing, to offer prayer, and to remind the crowd that this is indeed a nation under God, founded by patriots who understand that we could never successfully govern ourselves unless our hearts were rooted in God and in His Word.

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I have been at many rallies and prayer gatherings, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the joy, the unity, and the patriotism that I saw as I gathered with so many other Christians at this event.

The day centered around three key “pillars” that unfolded in song, prayer and testimony: The Miracles that Made Us, recounting the major chapters of American history where God’s Providence, protection and guidance are visible; The Miracles Still in our Midst, sharing living testimony of how God works in the lives of our fellow citizens today, and A New Birth of Faith and Freedom, calling the nation to renewal and looking to the future.

As we in the prolife movement know well, the Declaration of Independence adopted 250 years ago declares the right to life as a gift from God that government must secure. The very first speaker, Pastor Sammy Rodriguez, mentioned the unborn as bearers of that right along with the born.

So did Dr. Alveda King, who represented our Priests for Life ministry and spoke later in the day.

And the words of every speaker and prayer leader reinforced exactly what we know in our movement: a culture of life arises out of a godly nation that recognizes his will as more important that our choices.

Various speakers noted that rededication requires repentance. That is clear in our movement as we call the nation to repent of abortion. Various other prolife leaders I encountered in the crowd included Dan Steiner who leads Preborn, Allan Parker, who leads The Justice Foundation, and Martha Avila, who leads Heartbeat of Miami.

Our Jewish citizens were represented by beautiful words from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, who reminded us that anti-Semitism has no place in the great land of America.

One of most moving moments was led by the Hillsdale College Chamber Choir when they sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic. At the end, the whole audience was invited to sing along. As the words “His truth is marching on” rang out across the National Mall, I thought of the tremendous progress America is making. We are coming against cancel culture and bias in media, on campuses, on social media, in the pulpits, and in front of abortion clinics.

Freedom is being reasserted as Coach Kennedy, and everyone like him, are told yes, they can pray publicly even on school property, and as “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” ideology is abandoned by one corporation after another.

Several speakers prayed for unity, but not superficially. Unity can only happen when His truth marches on, and when citizens realize there is no freedom without truth and morality, and therefore religion.

The joy with which this American day of God started did not dissipate at all. The pageantry, the unashamed American spirit, and the faith expressed by our highest leaders, has become something we’ve seen regularly in the first and now the second Trump Administration. And we’ll see more as we approach July 4^th. As Pastor Robert Jeffress, a great Christian leader and patriot had declared earlier in the day, nobody knows how to throw a party like President Trump!

America has been rededicated to God, by the Sovereign people to whom this government belongs. Let’s expect major graces, including for the unborn and everything we do to protect them!

LifeNews.com Note:  Frank Pavone is the national director for Priests for Life.