On the Day September 26 1861

On the Day September 26 1861

Lincoln Observes Fast

Khen Lim




National Day of Prayer, Abraham Lincoln (Image source: littleguyintheeye.com)

In light of the godlessness that modern American culture is seemingly avowed to, it might not be hard to understand when Americans peer into their history and expect nothing less than a similar streak of atheism. One President constantly under the microscope is Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican after fifteen elections.

Lincoln is surely one of America’s best-known presidents of all time but whether or not he was a committed Christian, well, many might not think so. In fact contemporary historians continue to argue about this, suggesting that he was at least a sceptic who had, as a young man, mocked Scripture. That might be so as a young Lincoln back then had questions about his faith but he changed later. 

Some others said he was atheistic but there were also others who claimed he was a theistic rationalist, similar to many of America’s Founding Fathers. If that were so, many of Lincoln’s presidential speeches and correspondences were rich in biblical references that clearly demonstrated his reliance on prayer and God’s guidance.

Another point that sceptics like to bring up is that Lincoln didn’t have a church to belong to. According to his wife, he never joined one but then on becoming President, he attended service regularly. In fact, on July 31 1846, Lincoln himself had this to say about the nature of his non-belonging:

“That I am not a member of any Christian church is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular… I do not think I could, myself, be brought to support a man for office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, or scoffer at, religion.”

Lincoln and son Willy (Image source: loc.gov)

Some critics claim that following the death of his favourite son, Willy, in early 1862, he was clutching at whatever that could offer him solace and for that, he and his wife, Mary, allegedly attended séances that they later admitted to be nothing but a scam. But none of this were true. 

In fact Willy’s early demise drove Lincoln closer to God, which explains how his presidential speeches became increasingly filled with evidences of a man who was after God. All the trials and tribulations he had visited upon him had simply made him more dependent on his Bible.

His lifelong best friend, Joshua Fry Speed (1814-1882) recalled his one encounter with Lincoln: 

“As I entered the room near night, he was sitting near a window reading his Bible. Approaching him, I said, ‘I am glad to see you profitably engaged.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘I am profitably engaged.’ ‘Well,’ said I, ‘if you have recovered from your scepticism, I am sorry to say that I have not!’ Looking me earnestly in the face and placing his hand upon my shoulder, he said, ‘You are wrong, Speed; take all of this Book upon reason that you can and the balance on faith and you will live and die a happier and better man.’”

On the American Civil War between the Northern-based Union and the eleven Southern-based Confederate States, Lincoln had much of his hand deep into it but many of his subjects including Quakers had written to him in the White House pledging they would earnestly pray for him. One particular Mrs Gurney, a Quaker herself, received a reply from Lincoln, saying, “We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war before this but God knows best and has ruled otherwise.” 

It was him admitting that even as President, there was not much he could do but that God would know better how things should pan out.

Second Battle of Bull Run, August 29-30 1862 (Image source: en.wikipedia.org)

Lincoln struggled through the toughest periods of the Civil War and at one time was lost for words as to how the Union was losing its grip with the disastrous Second Battle of Bull Run. And all of that was confounding to him because the causes he believed in such as the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the union against secessionism from the South were honourable and justifiable. To that effect, he wrote ‘Meditation on the Divine Will,’ in which he penned conclusive words that were not to be seen of men:

“The will of God prevails. In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war, it is quite possible that God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party – and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose.

“I am almost ready to say this is probably true – that God wills this contest and wills that it shall not end yet. By His mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun, He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.”

As it turned out, Lincoln was grappling with the truth of God, whatever that may be, admitting that He is not just a domesticated American God but the Ruler of All Nations. And the truth had begun to descend upon Lincoln that this is not a God who would run to fetch the bone or the newspaper. While the nation was at his beck and call, God was not. This was when he discovered uniquely among all men of his days that his thinking had begun to diverge the sooner he allowed God to shape him.

Lincoln proclaims National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer (Image source: fggam.org)

On August 12 1861, Lincoln proclaimed in the Northern States that there would be a day of public humiliation, prayer and fasting to be observed by all in the United States with religious solemnities.

“It is peculiarly fit for us to recognise the hand of God in this terrible visitation and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals to humble ourselves before Him and to pray for His mercy,” Lincoln said.

The surrender of Robert E. Lee (Image source: telegraph.co.uk)

And with that, in the following month, on this day in 1861, the fast was observed. Meanwhile the truth of his admission rang true. The Civil War wore on for another four gruelling and deadly years, ending in 1865. At 705,000 to 900,000 dead, it was the bloodiest in history, it was higher than all American military deaths from the two modern World Wars added together. 

Ultimately too, it claimed the life of Abraham Lincoln who succumbed to his assassination on Good Friday at the same time the Civil War was finally winding down in his favour.