Prayer has been a part of America since her founding, and has defined her in government, military, and spirit. Congressional statutes, first passed in 1775, require: 1) Exemplary Conduct and; 2) prayer and Divine Services in the US Armed Forces, which were fully practiced and enforced until the last few decades.
This historic collection of American military prayer spans 1774 to the present and contains 280 uniquely American prayers. The collection serves a dual purpose: First, it demonstrates the necessity of prayer to America’s military mission. Secondly, at a time when prayer is being disregarded, opposed by political and military leaders, and treated more like ceremonial deism or mere formality in military and non-military circumstances, this collection allows anyone of any station or denomination, the opportunity to draw from its pages a prayer associated with an historic occasion or prayed by an historic figure.
As the voices of presidents and military heroes recorded in this book have continuously maintained, America and her fighting forces must not lose touch with our nation’s understanding of the “Creator” named in the Declaration of Independence, and His broad and great endowment of Divine Providence for our “One Nation Under God.” For the military to lose or ignore the “religious fervor of the soul” is done at ‘great peril.” Thus, mindful of this dire need, First Principles presents “Endowed by Their Creator: A Collection of Historic American Military Prayers 1774-Present”.