In days gone by, America's leaders periodically called for prayer and fasting.
When there was a crisis facing the nation. The founders did it, later presidents have done it.
And now Tennessee's governor has signed a proclamation calling for 31 days of prayer and fasting in the state, starting July 1.
The plan, out of the state House as Joint Resolution 803, asks citizens to "seek God's hand of mercy healing on Tennessee."
It cites the issues facing the state, from violence against its citizens, crime in schools, the "evil" of human trafficking and the deadly threat from fentanyl.
The lawmakers note that seeking God through "humbling" and "penitence" is a "way to resolve those issues."
They also cited the 9,000 children in need of foster care, and the "evidence of corruption in our federal government."
The petition was adopted by the state Senate 27-1 and the House 82-6.
Lawmakers recognize God as the "Creator" with "authority to judge and bless."
A report from Liberty Counsel notes the resolution is based on a precedent from President John Adams, "who in 1799 called for 'a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens on that day abstain, as far as may be, from their secular occupation, and devote the time to the sacred duties of religion, in public and in private…"
The lawmakers are asking their state to "humbly ask for forgiveness" and that "the Lord Jesus heal our land and remove the violence, human trafficking, addiction, and corruption."
"BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call upon all those who are physically able and spiritually inclined to do so to join in a thirty-day season of prayer and intermittent fasting as we begin a new fiscal year as a means of seeking God's blessing and humbling ourselves to receive His Grace and Mercy, transforming ourselves, our communities, our State, and our Nation," lawmakers wrote.
Lawmakers also invited residents to have the resolution read during church services, and then "examine our lives in light of God's Word and confess our sins."
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