Pray the Preamble –
Praying the original Connecticut State Constitution

We are reminded ……“to entreat and pray and offer petitions and thanksgivings to be made on behalf of all people: for those in government leadership and all who are in authority in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” I Timothy 2:1-3

One of the best ways to pray for the people of Connecticut is to use our state constitution as your prayer guide.  We can start doing this by first “Praying the Preamble”.  As we know, New England is a region with origins in godly covenants.  Even though the citizens today are not living godly lifestyles, it doesn’t negate the covenants our forefathers made with the Lord when they first established what is now Connecticut.  Also, we need to realize that there is a reason why Connecticut is nicknamed “The Constitution State”.  When our country was being formed, our Connecticut constitution was so well-written that it was used as the “blueprint” for our United States Constitution.

In essence, the seed of our country’s government was established here in Connecticut!

Declare our righteous roots as you pray for our state!  Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people…..Proverbs 14:34

Go to http://www.constitution.org to learn more about the Fundamental Orders – the original Connecticut Constitution.

Preamble to the Connecticut State Constitution

The People of Connecticut acknowledging with gratitude the good providence of God, in having permitted them to enjoy a free government; do, in order more effectually to define, secure, and perpetuate the liberties, rights and privileges which they have derived from their ancestors, hereby, after a careful consideration and revision, ordain and establish the following constitution and form of civil government.

Preamble to the Fundamental Orders

For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God by the wise disposition of his divine providence so to order and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the River of Connectecotte and the lands thereunto adjoining; and well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of the people at all seasons as occasion shall require; do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one Public State or Commonwealth; and do for ourselves and our successors and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into Combination and Confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess, as also, the discipline of the Churches, which according to the truth of the said Gospel is now practiced amongst us; as also in our civil affairs to be guided and governed according to such Laws, Rules, Orders and Decrees as shall be made, ordered, and decreed as followeth

A Brief History of the Fundamental Orders:

In the spring of 1638 three Connecticut towns, Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, chose representatives and held a general court at Hartford. At its opening session the Reverend Thomas Hooker preached a powerful sermon on the text that “the foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people.” On January 14 following, by the Julian calendar in use at the time, which would January 24, 1639, by today’s Gregorian calendar, the constitution given here was adopted by the freemen of the three towns assembled at Hartford, and is usually named The Fundamental Orders. Nowhere in this great document is there a reference to “our dread Sovereign” or “our gracious Lord the King,” — nor to any government or power outside of Connecticut itself. It did not even limit the vote to members of Puritan congregations. This appears to be the first written constitution in the Western tradition which created a government, and it is easily seen to be the prototype of our Federal Constitution, adopted exactly one hundred and fifty years later.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is a short document, but contains some principles that were later applied in creating the United States government. Government is based in the rights of an individual, and the orders spell out some of those rights, as well as how they are ensured by the government. It provides that all free men share in electing their magistrates, and uses secret, paper ballots. It states the powers of the government, and some limits within which that power is exercised.

In one sense, the Fundamental Orders were replaced by a Royal Charter in 1662, but the major outline of the charter was written in Connecticut and embodied the Orders’ rights and mechanics. It was carried to England by Governor John Winthrop and basically approved by the British King, Charles II. The colonists generally viewed the charter as a continuation and surety for their Fundamental Orders.

Today, the individual rights in the Orders, with others added over the years, are still included as a Declaration of Rights in the first article of the current Connecticut Constitution, adopted in 1965.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  http://en.wikipedia.org

Rev. Audrey Church McIntyre
House of Good Hope, Inc.
P.O. Box 4042
Hartford CT 06147-4042
www.hartfordprayer.com