President Barack Obama has a message for America:

Let’s come together to “pray for guidance, grace, and protection for our great Nation.

” Why the religious overtones, you ask ?

Today is the National Day of Prayer, an annual event that is intended “to mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture.” This year marks the 61st observance of the initiative, which was created in 1952 by a joint resolution in the US Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. As is customary, Obama issued a proclamation in observance of the day.

In his statement, the president shared his

views on the historical importance of prayer and religious protection. Additionally, he praised the nation’s Armed Forces and challenged all Americans to participate in showering prayer upon America.

Here’s Obama’s address, in full:

Prayer has always been a part of the American story, and today countless Americans rely on prayer for comfort, direction, and strength, praying not only for themselves, but for their communities, their country, and the world.

On this National Day of Prayer,

we give thanks for our democracy that respects the beliefs and protects the religious freedom of all people to pray, worship, or abstain according to the dictates of their conscience. Let us pray for all the citizens of our great Nation, particularly those who are sick, mourning, or without hope, and ask God for the sustenance to meet the challenges we face as a Nation.

 May we embrace the responsibility

we have to each other, and rely on the better angels of our nature in service to one another. Let us be humble in our convictions, and courageous in our virtue. Let us pray for those who are suffering around the world, and let us be open to opportunities to ease that suffering.