Donald Trump signs proclamation creating ‘Day of Prayer’ for Harvey victims

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared Sunday a national “Day of Prayer” for Harvey victims.

Trump signed a proclamation Friday afternoon as he held a prayer inside the Oval Office with Christian and evangelical religious leaders.

READ MORE: Floodwaters recede as rescuers search Houston for more victims

“We invite all Americans to join us as we continue to pray for those who have lost family members and friends, and for those who are suffering from this great crisis.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We invite all Americans to join us as we continue to pray for those who have lost family members and friends, and for those who are suffering from this great crisis."

The president added that Americans have joined together in prayer since the beginning of the country’s history to “ask for God’s blessing and God’s guidance.”

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After Trump signed the proclamation, several religious leaders surrounding him praised the move.

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“We thank you for acknowledging that ultimately, it is God who is the source of our unity as Americans,” one religious leader in the group told Trump.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We thank you for acknowledging that ultimately, it is God who is the source of our unity as Americans," one religious leader in the group told Trump.

Several members of the group, upon insistence from the president, praised his action on Harvey.

WATCH: Donald Trump personally pledges $1 million to Texas disaster relief

0:39 Donald Trump personally pledges $1 million to Texas disaster relief

“Thank you, sir, for uniting our nation and calling us to prayer,” another leader added.

The proclamation comes as 32,000 people have been displaced in the storm’s aftermath, which left at least 39 dead.

READ MORE: Donald Trump visits Harvey-hit areas, promises full relief efforts

According to the Associated Press, the White House plans to ask Congress for a $5.9-billion down payment for initial recovery efforts.

However, there has been widespread criticism of Trump’s quiet rollback of an Obama-era order that provided federal emergency aid to storm-ravaged communities.

READ MORE: Trump made it tougher for cities to access emergency aid, just in time for Harvey

Trump’s action is one of several ways the president, who has called climate change a hoax, has tried to wipe away Obama’s efforts to make the country more resilient to threats posed by climate change.

The order Trump revoked — just weeks before Harvey — would have permitted the rebuilding to take into account climate scientists’ predictions of stronger storms and more frequent flooding. Bridges and highways, for example, could be rebuilt higher or with better drainage.

WATCH: Donald Trump to visit flooded areas in Texas, Louisiana on Saturday

0:36 Donald Trump to visit flooded areas in Texas, Louisiana on Saturday

Trump has pledged damaged areas will get all the help they need from his administration.

“We want to do it better than ever before. We want to be looked at in five years, in 10 years from now as, ‘This is the way to do it,'” he said while visiting Houston on Tuesday.

— With files from the Associated Press