America's
First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774 with the reading of
the entire 35th Psalm and a powerful time of prayer led by Rev. Jacob Duche, an
Anglican minister from Philadelphia. Included in this august body of 56
delegates were George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee,
and Patrick Henry. They had gathered at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia to
discuss how they should respond to the British invasion of their land.
It was a very troubling time. King
George of England had sent six regiments of British soldiers who had occupied
the city of Boston, closed its port, and revoked the right of the people to
self-government. British soldiers were being quartered in people's homes apart
from their consent. This was George’s tyrannical response to protests that had
erupted, especially in New England, over his burdensome taxes and regulations
on the colonists without any input on their part.
Before beginning their discussions, the
delegates to this First Continental Congress agreed that they should begin with
prayer. They, therefore, invited Rev. Duche, who was known as a man of deep
spirituality, to come and lead them in prayer.
As the elderly, white-haired Duche stood
before them, he began by reading the entire 35th Psalm, which
begins with a cry of David for deliverance from his enemies and ends with
thanksgiving to God for His answer. As he read this Psalm, the presence of God
filled the room and, according to John Adams, tears “gushed” into the eyes of
many.
As Duche then began
to pray, Anglicans, such as
George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Richard
Henry Lee, knelt in prayer, according to their custom. The Puritans, according
to their custom, sat with bowed heads and prayed. Others prayed according to
their own, unique customs; but although their outward manners differed, there
was a singleness of heart and purpose as they all united with Duche in asking
for God’s assistance and intervention for America.
O Lord, our high and mighty Father,
heavenly king of kings, and Lord of Lords, who dost from Thy throne behold all
the dwellers of the earth, and reignest with power supreme over all kingdoms,
empires, and governments. Look down in mercy we beseech thee on these our
American states who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown
themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only
on Thee. To Thee they have appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to
Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support which Thou alone can
give . . . Shower down upon them and the millions they represent, such temporal
blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with
everlasting joy in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through
the merits of Jesus Christ Thy Son and our Savior. Amen.
Duche’s prayer was spot on and contains five important components, or principles, that can serve as a guide for prayer today. The five components are:
1.
He began by
acknowledging God as the Supreme Sovereign and Ruler of nations.
2.
He acknowledged their
own inadequacy to address the problem they faced.
3.
He acknowledged their
absolute dependence on God.
4.
He
acknowledged that in coming before the Almighty, they were not trusting in
their own merits (righteousness) but in the merits and mercy of Jesus Christ.
5.
He ended the prayer in “the
name of Jesus Christ Thy Son and our Savior.”
John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail,
of the impact of the Bible reading and prayer on the delegates. He said,
Who can realize the emotions with which they
turned imploringly to heaven for divine interposition and aid. It was
enough to melt a heart of stone. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience.
It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read that day. I saw tears
gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. I must
beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 108).
This was America’s founding prayer. The delegates were so
impacted that they invited Rev. Duche to be the chaplain for the Congress and
begin each session with Bible reading and prayer. He agreed and this first
Congress became a place where God's word and prayer in the name of Jesus were
valued and given priority.
Sadly, these historical facts have been censored from the
secularized modern versions of America’s history. It is, therefore, vital that
we restore them to the American public, for as the noted historian, Carl Sandburg,
said,
When a nation goes down or a society
perishes, one condition may always be found; they forgot where they came from,
they lost sight of what had brought them along (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that
Defined America, 11).
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie
Hyatt’s book, 1726: The Year that Defined America,
available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com. He is the founder of
“America's Reawakening.” which is dedicated to laying a foundation of faith for
another Great Awakening by educating Americans about the nation's unique
origins out of the First Great Awakening.
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