[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E599-E604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE 47TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE LARGENT

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Mr. LARGENT. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House and Senate Prayer 
Groups, it was an honor to chair the 47th Annual National Prayer 
Breakfast held on February 4th, 1999.
  This annual breakfast is an opportunity for leaders and guests from 
around the world to join in love and unity as we celebrate our faith in 
God and the religious freedom that our country protects. We put our 
differences aside and come together as children of God of pray for 
peace and reconciliation.
  No other event during my years as a member of Congress has been such 
a blessing as the National Prayer Breakfast. The thoughts and prayers 
shared at this year's breakfast were beneficial to those who attended, 
and I believe they will be so many more. I am therefore including the 
program and transcript to be printed in the Record. The program and 
transcript follow:

  1999 NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1999, HILTON 
             WASHINGTON AND TOWERS HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C.,

                 Chairman: Representative Steve Largent

       Representative Largent. My name is Steve Largent, and I 
     want to welcome you to the National Prayer Breakfast. I am a 
     member of the House of Representatives from the state of 
     Oklahoma, and I am this year's chairman and will be acting as 
     the Master of Ceremonies for at the prayer breakfast this 
     year.
       It is my pleasure at this time to introduce Mr. Jim Kimsey, 
     who will begin with our pre-breakfast prayer.
       Mr. Kimsey. Basil was a fourth-century saint from Asia 
     Minor. He said, ``We pray in the morning to give us the first 
     stirrings our mind to God. Before anything else, let the 
     thought of God gladden you.'' Would you begin this day with 
     me in prayer?
       Dear God, may the efforts of all those gathered here today 
     reach far and wide--our thoughts, our work, our lives. Make 
     them blessings for your kingdom. Let them go beyond today. 
     Our lives today have consequences unseen. Each life has a 
     purpose. Please, God, grant us the wisdom to recognize that 
     purpose.
       Today is new and unlike any other day, for God makes each 
     day different. To live each day wisely, we need wisdom--
     wisdom in our hearts and in our thoughts. We need wisdom in 
     the choices we make. Psalm 90 implores us, ``Lord, teach us 
     to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom in our 
     heart.''
       Each day, like today, we pray to God to help us to do the 
     things that matter, not to waste the time we have. We know 
     the moments we have are precious. We pray that God helps us 
     count them dear and teach us to number our days aright; that 
     he fills this day and every day with kindness so that we may 
     be glad and rejoice all the days of our life.
       Numbering our days aright is crucial for our own happiness, 
     but it is even more important for the rest of the world. Each 
     day we are presented with opportunities to make a difference; 
     small differences, like a hello to a lonely neighbor, to 
     extra change dropped in a homeless person's cup. And we can 
     make big differences feeding the hungry, teaching children to 
     read, bridging understanding and peace between nations. Every 
     difference you make matters, just as every day matters. 
     Edmund Burke wisely noted long ago, ``The only thing 
     necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do 
     nothing.''
       We are especially blessed today. We have a unique 
     opportunity in our frantic lives to begin with prayer and 
     listen to the wisdom of the incredible group assembled here 
     today. I would like to leave you with one thought. Yesterday 
     is history, and tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. 
     Thank you.
       (Opening Song by the United States Army Chorus.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you to the United States Army 
     Chorus. We appreciate

[[Page E600]]

     that. That is inspiring, and a good way to start the 
     breakfast.
       At this time I would like to call to the podium General 
     Dennis Reimer, who is the Chief of Staff of the Army, for our 
     opening prayer.
       General Reimer. Let us pray.
       Almighty and eternal God, creator of all things, we ask 
     Your presence with us at this gathering this morning as we 
     raise our minds and hearts to You. May the words we share be 
     an echo of Your voice. We are grateful for our nation's long 
     and abiding legacy of freedom. We thank You for Your gifts, 
     which become richer as we share them, and more secure as we 
     guard them for one another.
       Gracious Lord, we praise You for the spirit of liberty You 
     have established through our nation's founders. Lord, we 
     remember this morning the words of Peter Marshall, who gave 
     thanks for the rich heritage of this good land, for the 
     evidences of Thy favor in the past and for the hand that hath 
     made and preserved this nation. We thank You for the men and 
     women who, by blood and sweat, by toil and tears, forged on 
     the anvil of their own sacrifice all that we hold dear. May 
     we never lightly esteem what they obtained at a great price. 
     Grateful for rights and privileges, may we be conscious of 
     duties and obligations. May his words continue to be 
     timeless.
       Lord, we ask that You will strengthen us to stand firmly 
     against cruel and heartless discrimination or prejudice of 
     any kind. In Your holy presence we ask that the things which 
     make for peace may not be hidden from our eyes. Help us to 
     catch Your vision of a greater destiny and the call of holy 
     responsibility. May the moral fibers of duty, honor and 
     country be seen in all we do.
       Lord our God, in profound gratitude we ask Your blessing on 
     the United States of America. Bless now this food to our use 
     and us to Your service. In Your holy name we pray. Amen.
       Representative Largent. Thank you, General Reimer, a great 
     Oklahoman.
       Please enjoy your meal. We will continue with the program 
     in about 15 minutes. Thank you.
       (Breakfast)
       Representative Largent. In addition to the President and 
     First Lady, and the Vice President, this morning we have a 
     number of special guests. We have members of the Senate and 
     the House, and members of the President's Cabinet. We have 
     members of the Joint Chiefs, prime ministers, heads of 
     corporations, student leaders and numerous other dignitaries. 
     We have people from all 50 states and over 150 countries 
     represented here this morning. (Applause.)
       In addition, we have with us several heads of state which I 
     would like to recognize at this time. We have His Excellency 
     Ljubco Georgievski, Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav 
     Republic of Macedonia. (Applause.) Also joining us is His 
     Excellency Mathieu Kerekou, President of the Republic of 
     Benin. (Applause.) His Excellency Jamil Mahuad, President of 
     Ecuador. (Applause.) And His Excellency Pandeli Majko, Prime 
     Minister of the Republic of Albania. (Applause.) I get extra 
     credit for all of that. (Laughter.)
       At this time, I would like to introduce the head table. 
     Beginning on my left and your right is Mr. Jim Kimsey. He is 
     the founder of America On Line and is a gentleman who has a 
     deep love for the District of Columbia. With Mr. Kimsey is 
     Ms. Holidae Hayes. We are glad to have you here. (Applause.)
       Next to them is Mr. Michael W. Smith. He is a Grammy-
     winning recording artist who will perform for us later, and 
     his wife Debbie. (Applause.)
       Next we have Dr. Laura Schlessinger, also known as Dr. 
     Laura. (Applause.) I don't even need to say who she is, 
     right? (Laughter.) No, she is one of America's most listened-
     to radio talk show hosts. She is the co-author of the current 
     bestseller, ``The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's 
     Law in Everyday Life.'' She is also a licensed marriage, 
     family and children's counselor and is frequently referred to 
     as America's mommy. (Applause.)
       Next to Dr. Schlessinger is Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, 
     an outstanding senator from the state of Texas, who will 
     share with you later about the Senate and House breakfast 
     groups. Senator, thank you. (Applause.)
       Next is Annie Glenn, wife of Senator John Glenn. Annie is a 
     great friend and a great example for us all. (Applause.) And 
     then we have Senator Glenn, who is one of our national 
     heroes, whose return to space last year had me considering 
     out of retirement, briefly. (Applause.)
       Next is our Vice President, Al Gore. Every year Congress 
     hosts a National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and 
     Values, and this year the Vice President and his wife Tipper 
     were kind enough to open up their home to about 200 student 
     leaders from across the country and actually spent a lot of 
     time with them individually, talking with them. Mr. Vice 
     President, please tell Tipper we said thank you very much. 
     (Applause.)
       Next are President Clinton and the First Lady. (Applause.) 
     I want to tell you an interesting story that I think also is 
     a bit of a glimpse behind the scenes of President Clinton. 
     After the prayer breakfast two years ago, I sent him a note 
     thanking him for his remarks, which were wonderful, as
       So he called our home, and my daughter Casie, who at that 
     time was about 15 years old, answered the phone and said, 
     ``The President of the United States is calling for 
     Congressman Steve Largent.'' My daughter put the phone on 
     hold and came and got me and she said, ``Dad, somebody said 
     that the President is on the line. Would you please get him 
     off the line because I've got Brad Pitt holding on the other 
     line.'' (Applause.)
       Next to the First Lady is my first lady, Terry Largent. 
     (Applause.)
       Next we have our speaker this morning, Max Lucado and his 
     wife Denalyn. I will tell you more about Max just a little 
     bit later. (Applause.)
       Next to the Lucados is Senator Joseph Lieberman, a great 
     senator and a man who is known for his integrity and for his 
     love of God. (Applause.)
       Next is one of my good friends and colleagues in the House 
     of Representatives, Harold Ford, Jr. He is the first African-
     American in history to succeed his father in the U.S. House 
     of Representatives. (Applause.)
       And next to Congressman Ford are General Dennis Reimer, who 
     I introduced earlier, one of our great military leaders, and 
     his wife, Mrs. Mary Jo Reimer. (Applause.)
       As we gather this morning, this is the National Prayer 
     Breakfast, and there are many around the world who need our 
     prayers here this morning. I want to take a moment to mention 
     just a few of the people that are in dire need of our prayers 
     this morning, including King Hussein, Billy Graham, Pope John 
     Paul II, and the victims of the recent earthquake in 
     Colombia. In fact, it is my understanding that King Hussein 
     is undergoing therapy for cancer treatment as we are speaking 
     and is watching the prayer breakfast this morning.
       Many in the Senate and the House breakfast group have had 
     the opportunity over the years to become friends in this 
     fellowship with his majesty, King Hussein of Jordan. As 
     friends, we have prayed with his majesty in times of triumph 
     and times of trial. And as he undergoes treatment this week 
     for the trial of a lifetime, we join all our prayers to 
     uplift his spirit and strengthen his family, his loved ones 
     and his medical care team in a special way.
       Also, many of you may be here this morning asking, ``What 
     is the prayer breakfast and why am I here?'' I want to tell 
     you just a little bit about the prayer breakfast and its 
     genesis. It is not very complicated, actually. There was a 
     small group that began meeting in the Senate back in the 
     early 1950s. They were joined later by a small group that 
     began in the House. At some time they decided, wouldn't it be 
     a good idea if the House group and the Senate group met 
     together to pray for the President of the United States. And 
     that is how the prayer breakfast began 47 years ago. You are 
     going to hear a little bit more about the Senate and House 
     groups from Senator Hutchison and
       The members concluded that whether our country is 
     experiencing peace or war, bounty or struggle, there is a 
     tremendous need for people of faith to lift the President up 
     in prayer. This is not now, nor has it ever been, a political 
     event. When we come to the prayer breakfast, we take our 
     political hats off and come together to talk and pray about 
     the principles of Jesus.
       One individual who embodies these principles and who 
     generally graces our presence here at the prayer breakfast is 
     Dr. Billy Graham. Unfortunately, because of his health 
     considerations, Dr. Graham is unable to attend this year. 
     However, by way of a letter, he sends his greetings. I would 
     like to share a portion of his letter with you, because I 
     believe it captures the spirit of the occasion.
       Dr. Graham writes, ``After so many years, the most 
     difficult thing for me to do is to inform you that I will not 
     be able to come to the prayer breakfast as I had planned. I 
     hope you will give my greetings and the promise of prayer for 
     this important gathering this morning. Our country is in need 
     of a unity that only God can bring. We must as a people 
     repent of our sins and turn to God in faith. He alone can 
     heal our divisions, forgive our sins and bring the spiritual 
     renewal the nation needs if we are to survive. I deeply 
     regret that I cannot be with you today, but I will be in 
     prayer that God will give the greatest spirit of spiritual 
     renewal that we have ever had. Please assure the President 
     and Mrs. Clinton, Vice President and Mrs. Gore, and the other 
     leaders gathered at the breakfast, that they are in my 
     constant prayers. God bless you all. Billy Graham.'' 
     (Applause.)
       Mr. President, I would just add that our prayer is that 
     while you are here with us, you will have a sense of peace 
     and rest and will understand that as you leave here that 
     there are people all over the world that are praying for you.
       Now, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will share with you about 
     the House and Senate prayer groups.
       Senator Hutchison. Thank you, Congressman Largent. And 
     thank you for all the work you have done to make this a 
     wonderful event. (Applause.) Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, 
     Mr. Vice President, we are so honored to have all of our 
     guests today.
       It is gratifying to see such a large and distinguished 
     crowd for this great Washington tradition. We come for our 
     own reasons, some more inspired than others. For some, it is 
     the prayer. Perhaps for some it is the breakfast. (Scattered 
     laughter.) But as I look around this morning, in this city, I 
     am reminded about the small-town Texas preacher

[[Page E601]]

     who phoned the local newspaper editor on Monday to thank him 
     for making a mistake in the paper. And the editor said, 
     ``Well, why are you thanking me for the mistake?'' And the 
     preacher said, ``Well, the topic I sent you was, `What Jesus 
     Saw in the Publicans and Plutocrats.' What you printed was, 
     `What Jesus Saw in Republicans and Democrats.' The curiosity 
     brought me the greatest crowd of the year.'' (Laughter.)
       Obviously, we do not come here today as Republicans or 
     Democrats, or even as Americans. We come as God's human 
     creation, seeking guidance in our daily lives. I am pleased 
     to report for the United States Senate and the House of 
     Representatives this morning. Each of us has a regular weekly 
     meeting at breakfast, and our regulars rarely miss it. It is 
     the priority time on our schedules. It is a time for 
     fellowship and reflection, two commodities that are often in 
     short supply in the course of our daily lives.
       It is also a time to renew old acquaintances. One of the 
     regulars who grace the Senate meeting is former Senate 
     Majority Leader Mike Mansfield. Every Wednesday morning he 
     comes in and orders bacon and eggs and biscuits, and all of 
     my younger colleagues are eating granola and fruit. 
     (Laughter.) We tell him we love to see a guy that still eats 
     like a guy. (Laugher.) We figure that the breakfast and the 
     prayer is working for him, because he is 96 years old. 
     (Applause.)
       We are blessed with occasional drop-ins. Both the Vice 
     President and the President have dropped in on our prayer 
     breakfasts, and we enjoy it very much. but mostly it is just 
     us, our members and our former members, who are always 
     welcome. We spend our sessions discussing different things. 
     Sometimes it is the events of the day and what bearing they 
     may have on our spiritual growth and renewal. At other times, 
     we hear the testimony of a colleague or we help him or her 
     respond to a personal crisis. There is only one informal 
     rule: we never discuss Senate or House business.
       The Senate and the House are institutions, that, by their 
     very nature and genius, are diverse. They represent varied 
     sections and interests that define the great nation that is 
     ours. They come together to find common ground. But in our 
     prayer breakfast, we start on common ground and we grow 
     together from there. We start from the acceptance that each 
     of us is flawed, that we all need guidance, and that none of 
     us alone has the answers. We grow from the relationship that 
     bonds us. We gain the strength to fulfill our collective duty 
     to develop and nurture one nation under God, indivisible, 
     with liberty and justice for all. That is what all of us hope 
     that this annual meeting does, to inspire us to do better in 
     the next year for our respective nations.
       Thank you. Thank you, Steve. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Senator. And now, for a 
     reading from the Holy Scriptures, Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
       Dr. Schlessinger. First, I would just like to say I cannot 
     tell you how touched and honored I am to be here doing this. 
     You have no idea what it means to me. This is Deuteronomy 8.
       ``You shall faithfully observe all the instruction that I 
     enjoin upon you today, that you may thrive and increase and 
     be able to possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to 
     your fathers. Remember the long way that the Lord your God 
     has made you travel in the wilderness these past 40 years, 
     that he might test you by hardship to learn what is in your 
     hearts, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
       ``He subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave 
     you manna to eat, which neither you not your fathers had ever 
     known, in order to teach you that man does not live by bread 
     alone, but that man may live on anything that the Lord 
     decrees. The clothes upon you did not wear out, nor did your 
     feet swell these 40 years.
       ``Bear in mind that Lord your God disciplines you just as a 
     man disciplines his son. Therefore, keep the commandments of 
     the Lord your God. Walk in his ways and revere him. For the 
     Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with 
     streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and 
     hill, a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs and 
     pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where 
     you may eat food without scarcity, where you will lack 
     nothing, a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you 
     can mine copper.
       ``When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord 
     your God for the good land which he has given you. Take care, 
     lest you forget the Lord your God and fail to keep his 
     commandments, his rules and his laws, which I enjoin upon you 
     today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine 
     houses to live in and your herds and flocks have multiplied 
     and your silver and gold have increased and everything you 
     own has prospered, beware lest your hearts grow haughty and 
     you forget the Lord your God, who freed you from the land of 
     Egypt, the house of bondage, who led you through the great 
     and terrible wilderness with its serpents and scorpions, a 
     parched land with no water on it, who brought forth water for 
     you from the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with 
     manna, which your fathers had never known, in order to test 
     you by hardship, only to benefit you in the end.
       ``You say to yourselves, `My own power and the might of my 
     own had have won this wealth for me.' Remember that it is the 
     Lord your God who gives you the power to get wealth in 
     fulfillment of the covenant that he made on oath with your 
     fathers, as is still the case. If you do forget the Lord your 
     God and follow other gods to serve them or bow down to them. 
     I warn you this day that you shall certainly perish. Like the 
     nations that the Lord will cause to perish before you, so 
     shall you perish, because you did not heed the Lord your 
     God.''
       Shalom. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Dr. Laura. Now Michael 
     W. Smith.
       (Michael W. Smith sings ``Salvation Belongs to God.'')
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Michael.
       As you are aware, Senator Glenn made history recently by 
     returning to space 36 years after he became the first 
     American to orbit the earth. During Senator Glenn's space 
     flight last year, he kept in contact with the President via 
     E-mail. At one point, the President E-mailed Senator Glenn to 
     let him know he had spoken to an 83-year-old woman from 
     Queens and asked her what she thought of the mission. She 
     replied that it seemed like a perfectly fine thing for a 
     young man like Senator Glenn to do. (Laughter.) So please 
     welcome the young Senator Glenn to the podium (Applause.)
       Senator Glenn. Thank you. (Continued applause.) Thank you 
     all very much. Thank you all very, very much. Steve, I thank 
     you for that introduction very much also.
       Let me add a couple of Old Testament thoughts to what Dr. 
     Laura just read for you a moment ago. These readings have 
     been favorites of mine for a long time, and I wanted to add 
     those before I get over into a couple of quotes from the New 
     Testament.
       I am sure you all are very familiar with that part in 
     Ecclesiastes that start out, ``To everything there is a 
     season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.'' I won't 
     take time to read all of it exactly, but you remember that. 
     ``A time to be born and die, plant, pluck up that which is 
     planted, a time to kill, heal, break down, build up, weep, 
     laugh, mourn, dance, cast away stones, gather stones, 
     embrace, time to refrain, time to get, time to lose, time to 
     keep, cast away, rend and sow, silence, speak, love and hate, 
     time of war, time of peace.''
       That about covers the whole gamut of the human existence. 
     There is not much we could add to that. That has always been 
     one that I thought leads us to believe that there is a time 
     for everything intended for us, that God wants us to live a 
     full life. There is a time for everything. There is a time to 
     live and a time to do--for all of these things.
       There is another passage I also like. This came to me and 
     has been a favorite, because when I was training way back in 
     World War II days, which does show my age, I guess, my mother 
     sent a passage to me that I have always thought was very 
     apropos, not only for that time and what I was looking 
     forward to then, but also no matter what happens to us any 
     time in life. And that is out of Psalm 139.
       ``Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I 
     flee from they presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art 
     there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou are there.'' 
     And this part in particular: ``If I take the wings of the 
     morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even 
     there shall thy hand lead me and they right hand shall hold 
     me.'' To me, that dwelling in the uttermost parts of the sea 
     also means going into space, I can tell you that. Those two 
     passages together I have always thought were about my 
     favorite parts of the Scripture.
       Now to our New Testament reading, which I understand is 
     also the favorite of some of the other people here this 
     morning. Romans 8: ``Who shall separate us from the love of 
     Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or 
     famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, `For 
     thy sake, we are killed all day long. We are counted as sheep 
     for the slaughter.' Nay, in all these things, we are more 
     than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded 
     that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor 
     powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor 
     depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us 
     from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.''
       The second passage is out of Phillippians: ``Rejoice in the 
     Lord always. And again I say,
       Thank you. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Senator Glenn. Please 
     welcome to the podium, ladies and gentleman, the Vice 
     President of the United States, Albert Gore, Jr. (Applause.)
       Vice President Gore. Thank you, Steve. Thank you very much. 
     Thank you, Congressman Largent; Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton; 
     Mr. Speaker; distinguished guests.
       To all of those who have worked so hard to make this 
     breakfast what it is, including a lot of men and women in the 
     Overflow Room,

[[Page E602]]

     who did more work than anybody else, I want to thank them. 
     When I went over to speak with them during the breakfast 
     briefly, by sheer coincidence, I read exactly the same 
     passage from Romans that John just picked here.
       And to all of you, I want to thank you joining us at this 
     annual gathering, which reaffirms America as a pilgrim people 
     and a nation of faith.
       Every one of us, I believe, has a task appointed for us by 
     the Lord. We are reminded, ``Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
     do, do it with thy might.'' A teacher should teach with all 
     his heart, a parent should care for her child as if all 
     heaven were watching, a machinist should take the utmost 
     pride in a job well done, because all of us are asked by God 
     to devote our daily work to others and to his glory. All of 
     us have a chance to be made great, not by our achievements 
     measured in the world's eyes, but through our commitment to a 
     path of righteousness and to one another.
       I also believe our nation has a task appointed for it by 
     the Lord. As the Gospel says, ``Let your light so shine 
     before men that they may see your good works and glorify your 
     Father, which is in heaven.'' Though our founders separated 
     Church and State, they never forgot that this eternal 
     spiritual light illuminated the principles of democracy, and 
     especially the idea of the preciousness and equality of every 
     human being. The truth that underlies the Constitution is 
     that every human being, no matter how rich or how poor, how 
     powerful or how rail, is made in God's holy image and must be 
     treated accordingly.
       We have seen, especially in this century, how dangerous and 
     destructive the world becomes when individuals, nations, and 
     leaders forget this eternal truth. Without it, the door to 
     evil is wrenched open, wreaking untold misery on the human 
     race; demagoguery and cruelty, racial hatred and 
     totalitarianism may enter unchecked.
       When we understand our real nature and responsibility as 
     true sons and daughters of the living God, it does not mean 
     we retreat from the world, even though all of us know how 
     hard the world can be on our ideals. Rather, God asks us to 
     move forward into human institutions and, instead of 
     conforming ourselves to them, change them for the better, 
     doing our best to listen to the small, still voice that 
     should guide us.
       A little farther in that part of Romans, in a different 
     translation, is a passage that has always meant a lot to me: 
     ``Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by 
     the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is 
     the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Let 
     love be genuine. Hate what is evil. Hold fast to what is 
     good. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, 
     but associate with the lowly. Do not claim to be wiser than 
     you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought 
     for what is noble in the sight of all.''
       An old folk tale says there are two ways to warm yourself 
     when it is very cold. One is by putting on a luxurious coat; 
     the other is by lighting a fire. The difference is that the 
     fur coat warms only yourself, while the fire lights anyone 
     who comes near.
       We have a comparable choice every day. Indeed, we are at a 
     moment of great spiritual opportunity to choose right. The 
     end of the millennium is drawing near, so let us carry no 
     spiritual debts into a new time, but recommit to a future 
     where we elevate mankind's faith and fill the world with 
     justice. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
       I was joking with the Vice President earlier that the 
     prayer breakfast is on Thursday, but his prayers were 
     answered earlier in the week when Mr. Gephardt pulled out of 
     the presidential primary. (Laughter.)
       It gives me great honor to introduce our speaker this 
     morning, Mr. Max Lucado. Max is probably best know as a best-
     selling author, having 11 million books in print. Although I 
     have read many of his books, the one that truly touched me 
     the most has been one of his children's books called ``You 
     are Special.'' I have given this book to several friends and 
     have read it aloud on various occasions, especially when I 
     speak with young people. When I was asked to choose a speaker 
     this morning, I immediately thought of Max, because I am 
     convinced that someone who writes the way he writes knows a 
     great deal about the unconditional love of God. So, Max, 
     please come and share with us what is on your heart this 
     morning. (Applause.)
       Mr. Lucado. Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice 
     President. I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful 
     privilege that you have given me and my wife, Denalyn, to be 
     with you this morning. Thank you, Congressman Largent, for 
     those kind words.
       I never quite know how people respond to those of us who 
     write. Not long ago I was speaking at a conference and a man 
     came up to me afterwards and said, ``I've never had dinner 
     with an author before.'' And I said, ``Well, you buy, I'll 
     eat.'' (Laughter.) So off we went and had a
       I will do my best to keep my remarks brief. Not long ago I 
     was speaking and a man got up in the middle of my 
     presentation and began walking out. I stopped everything and 
     I said, ``Sir, can you tell me where you're going?'' He said, 
     ``I's going to get a haircut.'' I said, ``Why didn't you get 
     one before you came in?'' He said, ``I didn't need one before 
     I came in.'' (Laughter.)
       I have asked several people associated with the breakfast 
     why the invitation came my way. The answer that really made 
     the most sense was the briefest one, and that is, ``We 
     thought you might share a few words about Jesus,'' a request 
     I am privileged to attempt to fulfill.
       The final paragraph on the invitation that we received 
     defines the National Prayer Breakfast as ``a fellowship in 
     the spirit of Jesus.'' How remarkable that such an event even 
     exists. It speaks so highly of you, our leaders, that you 
     would convene such a gathering and clear times out of your 
     very busy schedule to attend such a gathering, not under any 
     religious or political auspices, but in the spirit of Jesus. 
     Thank you that during these dramatic hours you have made 
     prayer a priority.
       This breakfast speaks highly of you, our guests. You weave 
     a tapestry this morning of 160 different nations, traditions 
     and cultures, representing a variety of backgrounds but 
     united by a common desire to do what is right for your 
     people. And you are welcome here. Each and every one of you 
     are welcome.
       The breakfast is a testimony to you, our leaders, to you, 
     our guests, but most of all, wouldn't you agree?, the 
     breakfast is a testimony to Jesus of Nazareth. Regardless of 
     our perception and understanding and opinion of him, how 
     remarkable that 2,000 years after his birth, we are gathered 
     to consider this life, a man of humble origins, a brother to 
     the poor, a friend of sinners and the great reconciler of 
     people.
       It is the last attribute of Jesus I thought we could 
     consider for just a few moments, his ability to reconcile the 
     divided, his ability to deal with contentious people. After 
     all, don't we all deal with people and don't we all know how 
     contentious they can be? How does that verse go? ``To live 
     above with those we love, O, how that will be glory. But to 
     live below with those we know, now, that's another story.'' 
     (Laughter.)
       I found this out in college when I found a girl whom I 
     really liked and I took her home to meet my mom, but my mom 
     didn't like her, so I took her back. (Laughter.) I found 
     another girl I really liked, and so I took her home to meet 
     my mom, but mom didn't like her either. So I took her back. I 
     found another girl, took her home. Mom didn't like her. I 
     went through a dormitory full of girls--(laughter)--until 
     finally I found one that I knew my mom would like because she 
     looked just like my mom. She walked like my mom. She talked 
     like my mom. So I took her home, and my dad could not stand 
     her. (Laughter.)
       People are tough to deal with. But tucked away in the pages 
     of the Bible is the story of
       ``Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his 
     power and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 
     So he got up from the meal, he took off his outer clothing, 
     he wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured 
     water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, 
     drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He 
     came to Simon Peter, who said to him, `Lord, are you going to 
     wash my feet?' And Jesus replied, `You do not realize what I 
     am doing, but later you will understand.' `No,' said Peter. 
     `You shall never wash my feet.' And Jesus answered, `Unless I 
     wash you, you have no part with me.' `Then, Lord,' Simon 
     Peter replied, `not just my feet, but my hands and my head as 
     well.' ''
       It is the final night of Jesus' life, the night before his 
     death, and Jesus and his disciples have gathered for what 
     will be their final meal together. You would think his 
     followers would be sensitive to the demands of the hour, but 
     they are not. They are divided. Another follower by the name 
     of Luke in his gospel writes these words: ``The disciples 
     began to argue about which of them was the important.'' Can 
     you imagine? The leader is about to be killed and the 
     followers are posturing for power. This is a contentious 
     group.
       Not only are they contentious; they are cowardly. Before 
     the night is over, the soldiers will come and the followers 
     will scatter, and those who sit with him at the table will 
     abandon him in the garden. Can you imagine a more stressful 
     evening--death threats on one side and contentious and 
     quarrelsome followers on the other? I suppose some of you 
     can. That may sound like a typical day at the office. But we 
     know that the response of Jesus was not at all typical.
       But I wonder what our response would be. Perhaps we would 
     preach a sermon on team work, maybe point a few fingers or 
     pound a few tables. That is probably what we would do. But 
     what does Jesus do? How does he guide a divided team through 
     a crisis? He stands and he removes his coat and he wraps a 
     servant's towel around his waist. He takes up the wash basin 
     and he kneels before one of his disciples. Unlacing a sandal, 
     he gently lifts the disciple's foot and places it in the wash 
     basin, covers it with water and begins to clean it. One by 
     one, Jesus works his way down the row, one grimy foot after 
     another. He washes the feet of his followers.
       By the way, I looked for the verse in the Bible that says 
     Jesus washed all of the disciples' feet except the feet of 
     Judas, but I

[[Page E603]]

     could not find it. The feet of Judas were washed as well. No 
     one was excluded.
       You may be aware that the washing of feet was a task 
     reserved not just for the servants but for the lowest of 
     servants. Every group has its pecking order, and a group of 
     household servants was no exception. And whoever was at the 
     bottom of that pecking order was the one given the towel and 
     the one given the basin. But in this case, the one with the 
     towel and the one with the basin is the one whom many of us 
     esteem as the creator and king of the universe. What a 
     thought. Hands which shaped the stars, rubbing dirt; fingers 
     which formed mountains, massaging toes. And
       It is important to note that Jesus is not applauding their 
     behavior. He is not applauding their actions. He simply 
     chooses to love them and respect them, in spite of their 
     actions. he literally and symbolically cups the grimiest part 
     of their lives in his hands and cleanses it with forgiveness. 
     Isn't this what this gesture means? To wash someone's feet is 
     to touch the mistakes of their lives and cleanse them with 
     kindness. Sometimes there is no other option. Sometimes 
     everything that can be said has been said. Sometimes the most 
     earnest defense is inadequate. There are some conflicts, 
     whether in nations or in homes, which can only be resolved 
     with a towel and a basin of water.
       ``But Max,'' you might be saying, ``I'm not the one to wash 
     feet. I've done nothing wrong.'' Perhaps you have done 
     nothing wrong. But neither did Jesus. You see, the genius of 
     Jesus' example is that the burden of bridge-building falls on 
     the strong one, not on the weak one. It is the one in the 
     right who takes the initiative.
       And you know what happens? When the one in the right 
     volunteers to wash the feet of the one in the wrong, both 
     parties end up on their knees. For don't we always think we 
     are right? We kneel to wash feet only to look up and see our 
     adversary, who is kneeling to wash ours. What better posture 
     from which to resolve our differences?
       By the way, this story offers a clear picture of what it 
     means to be a follower of Jesus. We have allowed the 
     definition to get so confusing. Some think it has something 
     to do with attending a certain church or embracing a 
     particular political view. Really it is much simpler. A 
     follower of Jesus is one who has placed his or her life where 
     the disciples placed their feet--in the hands of Jesus. And 
     just as he cleansed their feet with water, so he cleanses our 
     mistakes with forgiveness.
       That is why followers of Jesus must be the very first to 
     wash the feet of others. Jesus goes on to say, ``If I, your 
     Lord and master, have washed your feet, you should wash one 
     another's feet. I did this as an example so that you should 
     do as I have done for you.''
       I wonder what would happen if we accepted this challenge, 
     if we followed Jesus's example. What if we all determined to 
     resolve conflict by the washing of feet? If we did, here is 
     what might occur. We would listen, really listen, when people 
     speak. We would be kind to those who curse us and quick to 
     forgive those who ask our forgiveness. We would be more 
     concerned about being fair than being noticed. We would not 
     lower our God-given standards, nor would we soften our 
     hearts. We would keep our minds open, our hearts tender and 
     our thoughts humble. And we would search for and find the 
     goodness that God has placed within each person, and love it.
       Would our problems be solved overnight? No. Jesus's were 
     not. Judas still sold out and the disciples still ran away. 
     But in time--in fact, in short time--they all came back and 
     they formed a nucleus of followers who changed the course of 
     history. And no doubt they must have learned what I pray we 
     learn this morning: that some problems can only be solved 
     with a towel and a basin of water.
       Let's pray together. Our Father, you have taught us that 
     the line between good and evil does not run down geographical 
     or political boundaries but runs through each of our hearts. 
     Please expand that part of us which is good and diminish that 
     part of us which is evil. Let your great blessings be upon 
     our President and his family, our Vice President and his 
     family, and all of these leaders and dignitaries gathered. 
     But we look to you as the ultimate creator, director and 
     author of the universe. Lead us to someone today whose 
     mistakes we might touch with kindness. By your power we pray. 
     Amen. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Max. At this time I want 
     to make one other brief introduction, and that is the new 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, my friend from 
     Illinois, Denny Hastert.
       I want to say it is my privilege and high honor to at this 
     time introduce the President of the United States, Mr. 
     William Jefferson Clinton. (Applause.)
       President Clinton. Thank you very much.
       Steve, distinguished head table guests, to the leaders from 
     around the world who are here, the members of Congress, Mr. 
     Speaker and others, ladies and gentlemen.
       I feel exactly the way I did the first time I ever gave a 
     speech as a public official, to the Pine Bluff Rotary Club 
     Officers Installation Banquet in January of 1977. The dinner 
     started at 6:30. There were 500 people there. All but three 
     were introduced; they went home mad. (Laughter.) We had been 
     there since 6:30. I was introduced at a quarter to 10. The 
     guy that introduced me was so nervous he did not know what to 
     do, and, so help me, the first words out of his mouth were, 
     ``You know, we could stop here and have had a very nice 
     evening.'' (Laughter.) He did not mean it the way it sounded, 
     but I do mean it. We could stop here and have had a very 
     wonderful breakfast. You were magnificent, Max. Thank you 
     very much (Applause.)
       I did want to assure you that one of the things that has 
     been said here today repeatedly is absolutely true. Senator 
     Hutchison was talking about how when we come here, we set 
     party aside, and there is absolutely no politics in this. I 
     can tell you that is absolutely so. I have had a terrific 
     relationship with Steve Largent, and he has yet to vote with 
     me the first time. (Laughter.) So I know there is no politics 
     in this prayer breakfast. (Laughs.)
       We come here every year. Hillary and I were staying up kind 
     of late last night talking about what we should say today and 
     who would be here. I would like to ask you to think about 
     what Max Lucado said in terms of the world we live in, for it 
     is easier to talk about than to do, this idea of making peace 
     with those who are different from us.
       We have certain signs of hope, of course. last Good Friday 
     in Northern Ireland, the Irish Protestants and the Irish 
     Catholics set aside literally centuries of distrust and chose 
     peace for their children.
       Last October, at the Wye Plantation in Maryland, Chairman 
     Arafat, Abu Mazin and the
       Throughout this year, we have worked with our allies to 
     deepen the peace in Bosnia, and we are delighted to have the 
     leader of the Republika Srpska here today. We are working 
     today to avoid a new catastrophe in Kosovo, with some hopeful 
     signs.
       We also have worked to guarantee religious freedom to those 
     who disagree with all of us in this room, recognizing that so 
     much of the trouble in the world is rooted in what we believe 
     are the instructions we get from God to do things to people 
     who are different from us. And we think the only answer is to 
     promote religious freedom at home and around the world.
       I want to thank all of you who helped us to pass the 
     Religious Freedom Act of 1998. I would like say a special 
     word of appreciation to Dr. Robert Seiple, the former head of 
     World Vision, who is here with us today. He is not America's 
     Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. 
     Later this month, I will appoint three members to the United 
     States Commission on International Religious Freedom. The 
     Congress has already nominated its' members.
       We know that is a part of it. But, respectfully, I would 
     suggest it is not enough. As we pray for peace, as well 
     listen to what Max said, we say, well, of course it is God's 
     will. But the truth is, throughout history, people have 
     prayed to God to aid them in war. People have claimed 
     repeatedly that it was God's will that they prevail in 
     conflict. Christians have done it at least since the time of 
     the crusades. Jews have done it since the times of the Old 
     Testament. Muslims have done it from the time of the Essenes 
     down to the present day. No faith is blameless in saying that 
     they have taken up arms against other faiths, other races, 
     because it was God's will that they do so. Nearly everybody 
     would agree that from time to time, that happens over the 
     long course of history. I do believe that, even though Adolf 
     Hitler preached a perverted form of Christianity, God did not 
     want him to prevail. But I also know that when we take up 
     arms or words against one another, we must be very careful in 
     invoking the name of our Lord.
       Abraham Lincoln once said that in the great Civil War 
     neither side wanted war and both sides prayed to the same 
     God; but one side would make war rather than stay in the 
     union, and the other side would accept war rather than let it 
     be rent asunder, so the war came. In other words, our great 
     president understood that the Almighty has his own designs 
     and all we can do is pray to know God's will.
       What does that have to do with us? Martin Luther King once 
     said we had to be careful taking vengeance in the name of 
     God, because the old law of ``an eye for an eye leaves 
     everybody blind.''
       And so today, in the spirit in which we have been truly 
     ministered to today, I ask you to pray for peace in the 
     Middle East, in Bosnia and Kosovo; in Northern Ireland, where 
     there are new difficulties. I ask you to pray that the young 
     leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea will find a way to avoid
       I ask you to pray for peace. I ask you to pray for the 
     peacemakers; for the Prime Minister of Albania; for the Prime 
     Minister of Macedonia; who are here. Their region is deeply 
     troubled. I ask you to pray for Chairman Arafat and the 
     Palestinians; for the government of Israel; for Mrs. Leah 
     Rabin and her children, who are here, for the awful price 
     they have paid in the loss of Prime Minister Rabin for the 
     cause of peace. I ask you to pray for King Hussein, a 
     wonderful human being, the champion of peace who, I promise 
     you today, is fighting for his life mostly so he can continue 
     to fight for peace.
       Finally, I ask you to pray for all of us, including 
     yourself; to pray that our purpose

[[Page E604]]

     truly will reflect God's will; to pray that we can all be 
     purged of the temptation to pretend that our willfulness is 
     somehow equal to God's will; to remember that all the great 
     peacemakers in the world in the end have to let go and walk 
     away, like Christ, not from apparent but from genuine 
     grievances. If Nelson Mandela can walk away from 28 years of 
     oppression in a little prison cell, we can walk away from 
     whatever is bothering us. If Leah Rabin and her family can 
     continue their struggle for peace after the Prime Minister's 
     assassination, then we can continue to believe in our better 
     selves.
       I remember on September the 19th, 1993, when the leaders of 
     Israel and the Palestinian Authority gather in Washington to 
     sign the peace accord, the great question arose about 
     whether, in front of a billion people on international 
     television, for the very first time, Chairman Arafat and 
     Prime Minister Rabin would shake hands.
       Now this may seem like a little thing to you. But Yitzhak 
     Rabin and I were sitting in my office talking, and he said: 
     ``You know, Mr. President, I have been fighting this man for 
     30 years. I have buried a lot of people. This is difficult.'' 
     And I started to make an argument, and before I could say 
     anything, he said, ``But you do not make peace with your 
     friends.'' And so the handshake occurred that was seen around 
     the world.
       A little while afterward, after some time passed, they came 
     back to Washington. And they were going to sign these 
     agreements about what the details were of handing over Gaza 
     and parts of the West Bank. On this second signing, the two 
     of them had to sign three copies of these huge maps, books of 
     maps. There were 27 maps. There were literally thousands of 
     markings on these maps, on each page: ``What would happen at 
     every little cross road? Who would be in charge? Who would do 
     this, who would do that, who would do the other thing?'' 
     Right before the ceremony there was a hitch, and some 
     jurisdictional issue was not resolved. Everybody was going 
     around in a tizzy. I opened the door to the little back room, 
     where the Vice President and I have lunch once a week. I said 
     to these two people, who shook hands for the first time not 
     so long ago: ``Why don't you guys go in this room and work 
     this out? This is not a big deal.'' Thirty minutes later, 
     they came out. No one else was in there. They worked it out; 
     they signed the copies three times, 27 pieces each, each page 
     they were signing. And it was over.
       You do not make peace with your friends, but friendship can 
     come, with time and trust and humility, when we do not 
     pretend that our willfulness is an expression of God's will.
       I do not know how to put this into words. A friend of mine 
     last week sent me a little story out of Mother Teresa's life. 
     she was asked, ``When you pray, what do you say to God?'' And 
     she said, ``I don't say anything; I listen.'' And then she 
     was asked, ``Well, when you listen, what does God say to 
     you?'' And she said, ``He doesn't say anything either; he 
     listens.'' (Soft laughter.)
       In another way, Saint Paul said the same thing. ``We do not 
     know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself 
     intercedes for us, with sighs too deep for words.''
       So I ask you to reflect on all we have seen and heard and 
     felt today. I ask you to pray for peace, for the peacemakers, 
     and for peace within each of our hearts--in silence.
       (Moment of silence.) Amen.
       (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Mr. President, for your 
     remarks. You have asked us to pray for the leaders of the 
     world and for leadership in the world. And at this time, I 
     would like to ask my friend, Representative Harold Ford, to 
     come forward to pray for world leaders.
       Representative Ford. Thank you, Steve.
       We pray, God, that you will help us to understand what the 
     book of Ephesians means when it says, ``We wrestle not 
     against flesh and blood but against principalities and 
     powers.'' We pray that we may heed the ancient summons, pray 
     as if everything depended on God and act as if everything 
     depended on you. Whether we worship in the shadow of the 
     cross, under the Star of David or the crescent of Islam, it 
     is in this spirit that we gather and in this spirit that we 
     pray. We pray that God be above us to protect, beneath us to 
     uphold, before us to guide and around us to comfort. We offer 
     these prayers in the name of one God of all humanity. Let all 
     of God's children say amen. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Harold. One of the real 
     mysteries of the power of Jesus is that, Mr. President, as 
     you said, I may not have voted with you in the four years 
     that I have been in Congress, but I want you to know that I 
     care for you and love you. That is part of the mystery of 
     Jesus and the celebration that we have here this morning as 
     we come to pray for our leaders and for our world.
       At this time I would like to ask Senator Lieberman to come 
     forward and lead us in our benediction. (Applause.)
       Senator Lieberman. Thank you. Let us pray.
       I pray, Lord, that you will open my lips, that I may 
     declare your praise. We love you, Lord, because we come 
     before you with a perfect faith that you will hear our 
     prayer. And we have that faith not because of our confidence 
     in our righteousness but because of our trust in your mercy.
       Lord, thank you for waking us up this morning, restoring 
     our souls to our bodies, bringing us to this place, enabling 
     us to have this extraordinary experience. We have come along 
     many paths to this place, but the destination we seek is a 
     unified one, Lord, and it is you. You are the source of our 
     lives, of our principles, of our purpose. We thank you for 
     all that you have done for us. And as the President said so 
     beautifully and compellingly and truthfully, for reasons that 
     only impress us withour imperfection, so often our attempts 
     to reach you have divided us.
       But today, the spirit in this room is yours; in the Hebrew, 
     Shekinah, the spirit of God, is here and it brings us 
     together in a characteristically American way, in a way that 
     the founders of this country understood, and they expressed 
     in the very first paragraph by which they declared their 
     independence that they held certain truths to be self-evident 
     and that the first of these was that the rights they were 
     granting us came from you; they were not the work of 
     philosophers or lawyers or politicians, but were the 
     endowment we received from you, our creator.
       Lord, we thank you for the leaders who are here, the 
     speakers who are here who have shared their faith with us. We 
     ask your prayers, especially on the leaders of our country, 
     the President and Vice President and their devoted and gifted 
     wives. We pray particularly today for the President of the 
     United States. We thank you for the gifts you have given him 
     of intellect, of judgment, of compassion, of communication, 
     that have enabled him to be such a successful leader of our 
     country and have raised up so many people in this country to 
     a better life and have brought him to a point where people 
     around the world depend on him, put their hopes in him.
       And Lord, may I say a special prayer at this time of 
     difficulty for our President, that you hear his prayers, that 
     you help him in the work he is doing with his family and his 
     clergy, that you accept his atonement in the spirit in which 
     David spoke to the prophet and said, ``I am distressed. Let 
     me put my faith not in human hands but in the hands of God, 
     who is full of abundant mercy.''
       So, Lord, we pray that you will not only restore his soul 
     and lead him in the paths of righteousness for your name's 
     sake, but help us join with him to heal the breach, begin the 
     reconciliation and restore our national soul so that we may 
     go forward together to make this great country even greater 
     and better.
       And I pray, Lord, too, for all the leaders from around the 
     world who are here. And in the spirit the president himself 
     invoked, I want to reach out particularly to Chairman Arafat 
     and Abu Mazin and Leah Rabin and her children, and to do so 
     in the spirit of unity that fills this room, but also in the 
     recollection and remembrance of the truth, that Abraham, with 
     whom you entered the covenant that gave birth to at least 
     three of the great religions that are here today, that 
     Abraham loved his son Ishmael as he did his son Isaac. And we 
     pray that you will bring that truth to Chairman Arafat and 
     the leaders of Israel and you will guide them in the paths of 
     peace so that their
       So, Lord, as we leave this place, we pray that you will 
     take us by the hand and lead us home, but let us not leave 
     here the spirit of unity and purpose that has filled this 
     room. Let us resolve, each of us in our own way, to work to 
     honor your name, to bring us closer each day to the 
     realization of the prophet's vision, ``when the valleys will 
     be exalted and the hills and mountains made low, when the 
     rough spots will be made straight and the glory of the Lord 
     will fill the earth, and all flesh will see it and experience 
     it.'' On that day, Lord, your name will truly be one and your 
     children will be one.
       Amen. (Applause.)
       Representative Largent. Thank you, Senator Lieberman.
       Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the 47th National 
     Prayer Breakfast.
       Thank you all for being with us here this morning. Let's 
     leave today and live out the principles Jesus taught about 
     loving one another, loving our God with all our heart, soul 
     and mind. Thank you, and have a good morning.

     

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