“We hereby rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God.”
Those words, spoken May 17 by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., marked the climax of a daylong prayer meeting attended by thousands.
People came from across the nation and beyond, worshipping and praying as political and faith leaders alike proclaimed that the nation desperately needs God—and that the only way forward is to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Seated on a blanket before the event began, Alessa Seawright and her 15-year-old daughter, Alessandra, told Decision that it can be difficult to live boldly as a Christian in their home city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. “The schools are so heavily indoctrinated with leftist ideology that I don’t have freedom of speech in those places,” Alessandra said. The Seawrights came partly so Alessandra could see that they are not alone as believers.
Pastor Ruel Navarro and his wife, Eve, immigrated to the United States 45 years ago from the Philippines and now live in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “We believe in the spiritual heritage of America,” Ruel said, “and this is a significant day. … Hopefully this will be the beginning of an America that’s turning back to God.”
Pastor Craig Moore, from Rapid City, South Dakota, attended with three fellow pastors. He explained that Christians in Rapid City have dedicated their city to God, much as this event would be rededicating the nation to Him.
Their local effort began 10 years ago, with three pastors praying over the city. Since then, Moore said, churches are working and praying together like never before, violent crime is down significantly, and several strong Christians have been elected to public office.
But what about people who complain about Christians having the audacity to say they are dedicating a whole city—or a nation—to God?
“We don’t get our marching orders from the naysayers,” Moore said. “We get our marching orders from the Lord. We felt like the Holy Spirit was leading us to do this, so we were obedient. God used it, and it just continued to grow.”
Temperatures on the National Mall approached 90 degrees under a blazing sun as speakers recounted the faith of the Founding Fathers and examples of God’s sovereign protection during the Revolutionary War and other perilous periods.
“When you look at American history, you can see God has been at the center of our nation since its founding in 1776,” said Gary Hamrick, who pastors Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia.
Several speakers pointed out that it was exactly 250 years earlier, to the day, when the 13 colonies observed a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer in the early days of the Revolutionary War. “Today, friends, we are in a spiritual war,” Hamrick said. “This is a battle in our day between good and evil, between right and wrong, between truth and lies, between light and darkness. This is a battle for the very soul of America. But please know this: Our hope is not lost. … Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
Speakers included pastors and leaders such as Robert Jeffress, Jack Graham, Jentezen Franklin, Eric Metaxas, Alveda King and Jonathan Pokluda.
“What does it mean for us as a nation to rededicate ourself to God?” asked Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas. “How does a rededication like that take place? The same way it happened 250 years ago: It starts with a prayer. It starts with you. It starts with me.”
Franklin Graham, who was unable to attend in person due to his Festival in Belarus, clearly explained in a video the Good News of Jesus Christ and called on people to put their faith in Him.
“I pray that we as individuals and as a nation will humble ourselves before God, confess our sins to Him and turn back to the God of our Fathers in repentance,” Franklin said. “Today, as we prepare to observe this important milestone in our nation’s history, there is no better moment than right now for each of us to look deep into our own hearts and quietly repent of our sins and call upon the Name of Almighty God.”
Cissie Graham Lynch took the platform next and underscored the historic nature of the event. “In this moment,” she said, “I don’t want it to be lost on us what is going on here: that we have a president, and a staff surrounding him, that saw the importance and the need to call [on] God. Because for 250 years this nation has returned again and again to the God who created this beautiful country that we get to call home. We do this not because we’re perfect people; we’re not. But woven into the fabric of America is a deep and persistent belief that we cannot persevere on our own—that we need God.”
President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio all addressed the meeting by video, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson offered the official prayer of rededication from the platform:
“Almighty God, we ask that You hear these solemn petitions. Just as we in the beginning dedicated this land to Your most holy Name, today, here, Lord—in this 250th year of American independence—we hereby rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God.”
