Prayer has a long history as a means of protesting injustices, appealing both to God to intervene and enact justice in the situation, and to political opponents to rise to a superior moral position. Boston declared a day of fasting and prayer in September 1768 as a protest against a British plan to station troops in the city. The Colony of Virginia's House of Burgesses established a day of fasting and prayer to take place on Wednesday, June 1, 1774, to protest the Boston Port Act.[1]Thomas Jefferson found this to remarkably effecting, writing that "the effect of the day through the whole colony was like a shock of electricity," moving the Virginians to choose delegates to establish self-rule.[2]
A. Philip Randolph pioneered the use of prayer protests as a tactic of the civil rights movement.[3] A "pray-in" is now a recognized tactic of nonviolent protest combining the practices of prayer and a sit-in.[4]
More recently, Christian leaders have publicly prayed for corporate executives in an effort to change their decisions regarding employee pay.[5]
