iStock On May 5, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued a proclamation on the National Day of Prayer, which was to be observed on May 6. Speaking to people of all religious backgrounds and acknowledging his own prayer life, the president stated: “I invite the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I join all people of faith in prayers for spiritual guidance, mercy, and protection.” After a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and other experiences of loss, Mr. Biden suggested that “the determination to overcome adversity, rise above our differences, and come together as one nation to meet this moment in history” could be found in prayer.