Note:
This prayer was originally titled "Let Our Hearts Be Stout" written
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Allied troops were invading
German-occupied Europe during World War II.
The prayer was read to the Nation on radio on the evening of D-Day, June 6,
1944, while American, British and Canadian troops were fighting to establish
five beach heads on the coast of Normandy in
northern France
The
previous night, June 5th, the President had also been on the radio to announce
that Allied troops had entered Rome Rome
My Fellow Americans:
Last night, when I
spoke with you about the fall of Rome , I knew at
that moment that troops of the United
States and our Allies were crossing the
Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus
far. And so, in this poignant hour, I
ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our
sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle
to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a
suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and
true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in
their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard.
For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with
rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy
grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore
tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The
darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the
violences of war.
For these men are
lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest.
They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice
arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the
end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never
return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy
kingdom.
And for us at home --
fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas,
whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them -- help us, Almighty God, to
rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged
that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the
road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves
in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day
is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too
-- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the
physical and the material support of our armed forces. And let our hearts be
stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart
our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us
faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in
our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not
the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment --
let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we
shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the
apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country,
and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace --
a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will
let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done,
Almighty God. Amen.
Learn more at www.TheGloriousCauseOfAmerica.org
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