By Sgt. Danielle M. Bacon Headquarters and Service Battalion leaders bow their heads during the National Day of Prayer breakfast held at Bruce Hall May 1.

‘‘This is an opportunity to recognize that our nation was founded on the freedom to believe,” said the base chaplain, Navy Capt. Lawrence Greenslit. ‘‘This is an interfaith event.”

The first Continental Congress made the first call to prayer in 1775 when they asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation. Twenty years later, the Constitution was created to state ‘‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

The call to prayer was passed down from generation to generation.

President Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation of a day of ‘‘humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863. The presidential proclamation continues today.

‘‘From our nation’s humble beginnings, prayer has guided our leaders and played a vital role in the life and history of the United States,” President George W. Bush stated in a press release. ‘‘Americans of many different faiths share the profound conviction that God listens to the voice of his children and pours his grace upon those who seek him in prayer.”

This year’s theme, ‘‘Prayer! America’s Strength and Shield,” is taken from Psalm 28:7, ‘‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.”

During the prayer breakfast here, retired Capt. Benjamin Folsom addressed the challenges of faith versus service.

A former Marine pilot, Folsom recounted his tests of faith during his time in combat but admitted the true test of faith was when his son was in Iraq the first time.

Anytime there was word of Marine casualties, Folsom would head to the Pentagon to find out if it was his son. One day, he was caught off guard when he watched his thin son recount what had happened to one of his Marine on the news.

‘‘There was nothing I could do to help him,” Folsom said. ‘‘My belief was tested like nothing I had ever felt before.”

Folsom admitted the ultimate challenge is keeping the faith with a son or daughter in a war zone, ‘‘I now know how my wife and mother felt every time I deployed.”

It is this faith Folsom believes binds us together, and the base Islamic lay reader agreed.

‘‘The beauty of today – we come together maintaining faith while in the service,” said Mukhtar Mohamed, during a prayer for America and its leaders.

Last year, local, state and federal observances were held from dawn in Maine to sunset in Hawaii, uniting Americans from all social, economical, political and ethnic backgrounds in prayer for our nation, according to Greenslit. It is estimated that more than 3 million people attended more than 65,000 observances organized by about 80,000 volunteers.

This year service members were set as the focus of those prayers.

In his press release, Bush stated, ‘‘On this day, we pray for the safety of our brave men and women in uniform, for their families, and for the comfort and recovery of those who have been wounded.”