Proclamation 6243—For a National Day of Prayer, February 3, 1991

As one Nation under God, we Americans are deeply mindful of both our dependence on the Almighty and our obligations as a people He has richly blessed. From our very beginnings as a Nation, we have relied upon God's strength and guidance in war and peace. Entrusted with the holy gift of freedom and allowed to prosper in its great light, we have a responsibility to serve as a beacon to the world -- to use our strength and resources to help those suffering in the darkness of tyranny and repression.

Today the United States is engaged in a great struggle to uphold the principles of national sovereignty and international order and to defend the lives and liberty of innocent people. It is an armed struggle we made every possible effort to avoid through extraordinary diplomatic efforts to resolve the matter peacefully, yet -- given no choice by a ruthless dictator who would wield political and economic hegemony over other nations through force and terror -- it is a struggle we wage with conviction and resolve. Our cause is moral and just.

However confident of our purpose, however determined to prevail, we Americans continue to yearn for peace and for the safety of our service men and women in the Persian Gulf. With these great hopes in mind, I ask all Americans to unite in humble and contrite prayer to Almighty God. May it please our Heavenly Father to look upon this Nation, judging not our worthiness but our need, and to grant us His continued strength and guidance. May He watch over and support the courageous members of our Armed Forces, their loving families, as well as the forces of those nations that have joined the coalition to liberate Kuwait and to deter further Iraqi aggression.

Today, as we turn our hearts toward Heaven, let us also pray especially for those brave and selfless military personnel who have earned their final rest in the arms of God. Let us ask Him to strengthen and console their families, and let us also remember all those innocent civilians, wherever they may be, who have been affected by this conflict.

"All this being done, in sincerity and truth," as President Lincoln once wrote, "Let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered . . ." by Almighty God, our refuge and strength, our rock and our salvation.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 3, 1991, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask that Americans gather in homes and places of worship to pray for the members of Operation Desert Storm; for their families; and for all those innocent persons, wherever they may be, who suffer as a result of the conflict in the Persian Gulf. I ask that prayer be made for American military commanders in the region and for the forces of other nations that have joined in the coalition to liberate Kuwait. I also urge the American people and their elected representatives to give thanks to God for His mercy and goodness and humbly to ask for His continued help and guidance in all our endeavors. Let us pray this day, and every day hereafter, for peace. And may God keep this country as one great Nation under Him forever.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth.

GEORGE BUSH