For every removal of public prayer or a Ten Commandments display it is easy to despair in the face of what appears "inevitable" – to chalk it up as yet another "unavoidable" win for the secularists and ACLU-types. These atheistic organizations have systematically eliminated one public acknowledgment of God after another, even convincing federal courts and various government agencies to participate in their agenda.
The religious shield of the First Amendment has been hammered into a sword of religious oppression for decades. Some have even come to expect them to get their way. But as several recent news stories suggest, the tide may be turning back in favor of religious freedom after all. We have seen that the ACLU & Co. do not always win.
Just two weeks ago, a federal appeals court reversed a ban on prayers offered in the name of Jesus at the Indiana House of Representatives. The ACLU had again persuaded the lower court that such prayers were unconstitutional, but the higher court dismissed the case, stating that the ACLU's clients did not even have legal standing to bring the suit. Instead of just giving up, as so many have done in the past, the Indiana House decided to fight for the right to have freedom in prayer – and they won. They are now free to pray as they choose without a court-ordered policy of censorship.  
Then there are two stories about the American flag that give us reason to celebrate. In the first, the acting architect of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., decided to ban the word "God" and any other religious reference from official certificates issued for flags flown over the Capitol. Seventeen-year-old Andrew Larochelle had requested that a flag be flown in honor of his grandfather for "his dedication and love of God, country, and family." When Andrew noticed that "God" had been taken out of his requested certificate, he and a host of Republican legislators in Congress complained to the architect. House Minority Leader John Boehner stated in a letter to the speaker of the House:
"This practice, which overturns a longstanding and long-cherished congressional tradition, has rightly drawn outrage from the American people, who have grown weary of endless attempts by politicians and bureaucrats to ban the word God and even the most tacit references to faith from our public institutions.
The architect quickly raised the white flag and reversed his own God-less policy.
Another example of flag foolishness was in a Sept. 27, 2007, memo from the National Cemetery Administration, a division of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The memo stopped a popular recitation of a 13-point script that explained the significance of each fold of the U.S. flag, often performed by a voluntary Honor Detail at funerals for deceased veterans. Several parts of the recitation refer to the God of the Bible. Veterans' organizations nationwide, along with Democratic and Republican legislators and the Foundation for Moral Law, demanded a return of the recitation to military funerals. In response to the national uproar, the VA withdrew the earlier directive and restored the flag recitation for those veterans and families who desired it.
Finally, just last month the National Park Service struck the words "Laus Deo" (Latin for "Praise be to God") from a descriptive panel on a replica of the cap on the Washington Monument. The Washington Monument is the tallest building in Washington, D.C., standing 555 feet, and the cap at the top is the highest point in our nation's capital. The four-sided cap replica, which sits in the monument's visitor's center, was even pushed against a wall so that the side inscribed with "Laus Deo" could not be seen. Again, a backlash ensued, including 28,000 emails sent in one day to the Park Service protesting the "Laus Deo" cover-up. The Park Service quickly announced that the replica would be moved to the center of the room so all sides would be seen and that the words "Laus Deo" would be returned to the descriptive panel. Again, the will of the people prevailed over politically correct bureaucrats who cannot seem to tolerate any reminder of a God over them.
These and many other examples indicate that the American people have had enough, that we will not be pushed around any longer. These victories in the public marketplace of ideas should not lull us into complacency, just as losses to the ACLU should not drag us to despair and surrender.
Samuel Adams, the father of the American Revolution and a believer in overcoming long odds, is credited with saying, "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." Remember that victory does not lie in numbers but in perseverance and faith
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