Pastor Jack Hibbs says that prayer in America dates back to colonial days, when the Founding Fathers knew they could never mitigate a man or woman's heart "to pray, to be religious."
And that spirit of religious freedom was cemented in 1791, as part of the First Amendment.
With more than 230 years of American history on his side, Hibbs was overjoyed, but hardly surprised by last week's Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Joseph Kennedy, a former high school football coach in Washington state who sued upon being suspended from his job — after refusing to stop leading on-field prayers with players after games.
"We can invite people to join us [at the 50-yard line]. We can invite and exercise our First Amendment," Hibbs said on Newsmax Sunday morning, while appearing on "Wake Up America" with hosts Carl Higbie and Amanda Brilhante.
"God bless America! This is an awesome judgment for our freedom," he added.
Hibbs, also a best-selling author, believes the Supreme Court's ruling on the Kennedy case (by a 6-3 decision) "takes us back to the good normal."
"[America] is a nation of prayer," says Hibbs. "Whenever something goes wrong in this country, there will always be a statement or a call ... to 'Let's Pray.' Let's 'have a moment of silence,' or 'let's put out a call to God.' [America] is the only the nation in the history of man to have repeated invitations by presidents to have a day of solemn fasting or prayer for our nation."
With the Kennedy ruling settled before the fall months, Hibbs would love to see more football coaches follow Kennedy's lead and invite others for postgame prayer and communal fellowship.
"Football season's coming soon. Let's do this: Let's all meet on the 50-yard line after a game. Junior high, high school, college, pro. After the game, let's start a movement," said Hibbs. "We're inviting everyone to Pray Back Better. How about that? ... We'll give God thanks, and exercise our freedom."
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