Something rare happened on the National Mall Sunday. Power knelt.
The President of the United States, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Speaker of the House all gathered — not for a summit, not for a ceremony of state — but for prayer.
The occasion was “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” a massive faith rally drawing thousands to Washington as the nation counts down to its 250th birthday on July 4th.
President Trump, in a prerecorded message delivered from the Oval Office, read from 2 Chronicles — the ancient passage that has echoed through American revivals for three centuries: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
President Trump recited a passage from 2 Chronicles 7 during Sunday’s “Rededicate 250” celebration on the National Mall, including the well-known verse urging people to “humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways.”
The verse is often cited by… pic.twitter.com/9UPr7vBao0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 17, 2026
Vice President Vance called America “a nation of prayer,” tracing faith’s thread through every chapter of the national story — from suffering to triumph. Secretary of State Rubio put it simply: the soul of this nation, he said, has always been “rooted in an ancient faith.”
Vice President JD Vance praised Americans for embracing prayer throughout the country's history — “in times of suffering and in times of triumph" — at the “Rededicate 250” gathering in Washington, D.C.
"It was obvious to the founders that our faith was the ground upon which… pic.twitter.com/ThsKkoYoSr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 17, 2026
Tulsi Gabbard reminded the crowd that the Founders themselves knelt before declaring independence.
Two hundred and fifty years ago today — on May 17th, 1776 — the Second Continental Congress called for a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer.
Today, exactly 250 years later, we gather to do the same. To humbly ask once more for God's mercy and guidance — as we enter the next… pic.twitter.com/NS1tzIRYTd
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) May 18, 2026
Speaker Mike Johnson led a prayer of rededication.
“Our rights do not derive from the government. They come from You: Our Creator and Heavenly Father."
House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered a forceful defense of America’s founding principles during the “Rededicate 250” prayer gathering on the National Mall ahead of the nation’s… pic.twitter.com/TAULqfVJPj
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 17, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoked George Washington’s faith.
Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the “Rededicate 250” prayer gathering on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., delivering a message centered on faith. pic.twitter.com/DMkyY9ZfOz
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 17, 2026
Senator Tim Scott connected Christianity to the beating heart of the Civil Rights Movement.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) delivers remarks at Rededicate 250 on the National Mall:
"I stand before you as living proof that prayer, the power of prayer changes lives. It's prayer that inspires our nation. It's prayer that transforms our world. There is no way to grasp the last 250… pic.twitter.com/jwi3nqzPE1
— Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) May 17, 2026
And then there was Alveda King — niece of Martin Luther King Jr. — who told the crowd her uncle spoke to a gathering like this one in 1963. She praised the President for calling Americans to rededicate the nation to God.
Alveda C. King, Ph.D., delivers a prayer at Rededicate 250 on the National Mall:
Prayer is always our most powerful weapon. Facing adversity and hatred, as we repent and pray, your people must always pray not for vengeance, but for victory through love. We pray for our enemies… pic.twitter.com/kbEWRsrizL
— Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) May 17, 2026
Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the acclaimed series The Chosen, spoke. Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron were present. Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Franklin Graham, and Grammy-winning artist Chris Tomlin filled out a gathering that was, by any measure, extraordinary in its breadth.
Jonathan Roumie delivers remarks at Rededicate 250 on the National Mall:
"Rededicate yourself, or dedicate yourself to the first time to holiness, because holiness is what makes us sinners into saints. And perhaps that is what God is asking of us again as a nation, to reopen our… pic.twitter.com/FvbiZGdPEf
— Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) May 17, 2026
Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivers remarks at Rededicate 250 on the National Mall:
"Our deepest values as a country have always been rooted in our identity as a people of God and, and anchored in the reality that we're not only American citizens, you bet we are, and grateful for… pic.twitter.com/OEQyTk5RWK
— Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) May 17, 2026
The event was organized by Freedom 250, a nonprofit building toward the nation’s semiquincentennial — and Sunday’s rally was only the beginning.
Two hundred and fifty years. One nation. And on a warm Sunday on the Mall, thousands of Americans in red, white, and blue bowed their heads and asked, as generations before them have asked, for mercy and guidance.
Some things don’t change. Perhaps that’s the point.
