On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court had just declared prayer in the schools unconstitutional. Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, respected for his Bible leadership and member of Congress, was deeply moved.
Two days later, he delivered an address to his colleagues. Byrd reminded them of the Christian symbolism throughout their own city. Byrd led Congress on a tour.
In the Capitol, every session begins with prayer. Each house has its own chaplain. The 83rd Congress set aside a small room in the Capitol for private prayer/meditation of members of Congress. A stained-glass window shows George Washington kneeling in prayer. Behind him is etched, “Preserve me, O God for in Thee do I put my trust” (Psalm 16:1).
In the Supreme Court, above the head of the chief justice are the Ten Commandments. The crier opens and closes each session with the words, “God save the United States and The Honorable Court.”
At the Washington Monument, engraved on the metal cap on the top are the words, “Praise be to God.” Biblical phrases line the stairwell.
In the Lincoln Memorial, granite portrays Lincoln’s words, “That this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
In the Jefferson Memorial are Jefferson’s words: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”
Sen. Byrd cited those words as “a forceful and explicit warning that to remove God from this country will destroy it.”
Our leaders should take a tour of their workplace, its symbols, and memorials of our past great leaders. There will be a rebirth of America.