By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Even as they deliberated the conception of this Nation, our forefathers, mindful of the frailties of mortal men, turned for guidance to Almighty God.
Their humble and sincere prayer, delivered in their belief that all good things are the gift of God, established a reliance that remains unbroken.
As did our founding fathers, our people continue to place their trust in God.
Time and time again we have turned to Him for succor, and time and time again He has answered with manifestations of abundance.
In our own times, the Congress by a joint resolution of April 17, 1952, provided-that the President "shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals."
Now, Therefore, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, do hereby set aside Wednesday, October 20, 1965, as National Day of Prayer, 1965.
Few nations have been so favored by Almighty God, and it is altogether fitting that a day be set aside for this purpose.
Thus it is in the same spirit of humility and conviction demonstrated by our forefathers that I urge each citizen, according to his own conscience to pause on that day to acknowledge our dependence upon God.
In these days of peril and uncertainty, I urge that each of us plead for wisdom, strength and courage.
I urge that we pray for God-given vision and determination to make the sacrifices demanded by our responsibilities to our fellow men in our own Nation and in other lands of this world.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this seventh day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninetieth.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
By the President:
GEORGE W. BALL
Acting Secretary of State
NOTE: For the text of the President's remarks upon signing the proclamation see preceding item.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Proclamation 3680—National Day of Prayer, 1965 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/306944