Today in the United States is our National Day of prayer. We find our nation is a horrible condition. We are near an economic and moral collapse. Our leaders are spineless and greedy for power. They are turning away from the freedom and values that have made this country great. How did we get here. Perhaps we took the the easy road, instead of the road less taken. As a nation we turned our back to God. God gave us the leaders that we wanted, not the leaders we needed.
Lets pray that our nation turns back to God and His values. Let us pray that we are united in love and not greed. Lets pray that we become one Nation Under God — not a nation Against God. Pray that God will have mercy on U.S.
Quotations on Prayer
All good and beneficial prayer … at bottom nothing else than energy of aspiration towards the eternal not ourselves that makes for righteousness, of aspiration towards it, and of cooperation with it. —Matthew Arnold, Literature and Dogma, 1873
Prayer is the most perfect and most divine action action that a rational soul is capable of. It is of all actions and duties the most indispensabably necessary. — Augustine Baker, Holy wisdon, 1876
It is not well for a man to pray cream, and live skim milk. — Henry Ward Beecher – Life Thoughts, 1876
Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for power equal to your tasks. — Phillips Brooks, Perennials, 1898
Prayer is and remains always a native and deepest impulse of the soul of man. z— Thomas Carlyle, letter to G. A. Duncan, June 9, 1870
Prayer should be the key of the morning and the lock of the night. — Owen Felltham, Resolves, c. 1620
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Hopefully more prayer quotations soon.
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Uncle Sam
On March 13, back in 1852, the New York “Lantern” newspaper published an “Uncle Sam” cartoon for the first time. The cartoon figure labeled Uncle Sam was used to represent the United States. It was first drawn by a man named Frank H.T. Bellew. The cartoon showed John Bull helping the British shipping business, while Uncle Sam stood by and merely watched American shipping efforts.
Prior to this date, the name Brother Jonathan was the name of the symbol for the United States. The exact origin of Uncle Sam is unknown and stories are varied. One story is that of a dock worker wondering what the words “From U.S.” meant on shipping crates. Reportedly, he was told jokingly, “Oh, this is from your Uncle Sam.” Another, more likely origin, comes from the War of 1812. In this story the name Uncle Sam came from a federal meat inspector in Troy, New York. His name was Samuel Wilson, and he stamped approved meat with the initials U.S. because his nickname was Uncle Sam.
Through the years, the caricature changed with Uncle Sam becoming symbolic of the U.S. being just like a favorite uncle. It was the German-born cartoonist Thomas Nast who first drew the figure with the top hat and vest that we know today. Nast’s Uncle Sam always wore a nifty suit of red, white and blue, a hat with stars and stripes down the trousers of both of his long legs. Nast also gave us the donkey and elephant icons for our political parties.
One of the more famous examples of this friendly uncle symbolism of Uncle Sam were U.S. Army posters that portrayed Uncle Sam pointing and saying, “I want you!”. As a result, many of men and women joined his ranks.
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