[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3804-3810]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     60TH NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Pryor and myself, I 
ask unanimous consent that the transcript of the 60th Annual National 
Prayer Breakfast be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Senator Mark Pryor: Good morning. Thank you all for being 
     here. It's great to have you here. I want to thank all of you 
     for making your way to this very special event in the life of 
     our country and our world. We invited you, and you came, and 
     we appreciate it. When I say ``we'' I mean co-chair Jeff 
     Sessions of Alabama and many of the members of the U.S. 
     Congress who are the real life hosts of this breakfast this 
     morning. On behalf of all of us, the House and the Senate 
     members, we certainly want to say thank you for joining us 
     here this morning and thank you for praying and for building 
     friendships and to try to make this a better world.
       Senator Jeff Sessions: As with all our Prayer Breakfasts 
     over the last six decades, we are gathering in the Spirit of 
     Jesus of Nazareth. He was open, curious, compassionate, 
     inclusive and humble--a good example for all of us in public 
     life and for all of us living anywhere for that matter. He 
     was loving, in a word, and that is the way to describe the 
     spirit in which we attempt to gather in today.
       Senator Pryor: Let us just join together in the spirit of 
     reverent prayer: God of the universe and of each and every 
     one of us, we welcome your presence, your truth and your love 
     to our event. Bless us we pray with the change of heart and 
     change of mind we all need today. We love you and we want to 
     draw near to you this morning.
       Senator Sessions: In the spirit of love, I pray that 
     everything we do and say from this head table and from around 
     each table would be pleasing to you. Thank you for the good 
     food and fellowship we enjoy at this breakfast and may your 
     Spirit fill this great hall, Amen.
       Mark and I and many, many others have been working on, and 
     praying for, this remarkable breakfast for months now and we 
     are all excited to share it with you. I think we have all had 
     two different experiences of what can happen when we bring 
     faith into the world of government and business. Sometimes it 
     creates conflict and when we look at our planet's history, 
     even wars. But at other times, more often really, true faith 
     can be a reconciling force of amazing power, a power that can 
     make an entire society better. As Ambassador Andrew Young 
     said last night at the Southeastern dinner, the civil rights 
     movement, the non-violent movement that overcame bigotry and 
     hatred in a way that could not have been done any other way, 
     was done in the Spirit of Jesus.
       We all have somewhat different religious histories. In my 
     faith walk as I studied the life of Jesus, it seems His 
     approach was always to see the people who are considered to 
     be outsiders, or who had withdrawn, He tried to bring them 
     all in. All those lepers, Samaritans and disabled people and 
     poor people and folks like the woman at the well--they had 
     been pushed out, or had withdrawn, but Jesus brought them in. 
     I think that is the kind of approach we want to embrace in 
     this breakfast and everything that flows out of it. We want 
     to bring everyone in and to be in harmony with God's will and 
     to share in God's love.
       Senator Pryor: Senators have been meeting in a breakfast 
     group for over six decades now. As friends, we gather to pray 
     every Wednesday when the Senate is in session. To give you a 
     picture of how long that group has been in existence, the 
     Senate breakfast group has met about one time for every 
     person in this room. We come together to pray for each other 
     and work for the Senate and of course for the country. Once a 
     year we invite you all into the fellowship together to pray 
     for world leaders and especially for our President.
       Some of you have heard that things can be better in 
     Congress and that is true. I think a good place to start 
     would be to remember just a few simple, yet powerful words. 
     Love one another as I have loved you. Forgive and you will be 
     forgiven. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute 
     you. We don't need a constitutional amendment or some big 
     Congressional reform, we just need to start acting better and 
     Jesus gives us the place to start. It's simple but it's hard. 
     We need to love and pray for people who disagree with us. We 
     hope you will be loving and be praying for us and with us 
     this morning in this special time today and when you return 
     home.
       I have a letter from a very special friend of ours and he 
     writes to the folks who are attending the National Prayer 
     Breakfast.
       Letter from Rev. Billy Graham read by Senator Pryor:
       I want to convey my personal greetings to each of you 
     assembled this morning for the National Prayer Breakfast. I 
     miss being with you all, having been a part of this annual 
     event sponsored by the House and Senate prayer group since 
     the very beginning, often as a speaker. Though age and health 
     prevent me from being there in person, I am with you in 
     spirit and you are in my heart.
       I want to say a special word of encouragement to the many 
     friends meeting today from across the country and across the 
     world, especially President Obama and his wife Michelle and 
     Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife Jill for whom I pray 
     every day as the Scriptures command us to do. The National 
     Prayer Breakfast is one of the most amazing gatherings as 
     people from most of the nations of the world, representing 
     every race, color, creed, religion and political affiliation, 
     or none, come together in the name of Jesus to focus on his 
     teachings and follow his example of how to live and love each 
     other.
       Throughout my ministry spanning more than 60 years, I have 
     tried to lift up the name of Jesus to audiences and 
     individuals in many of the countries you represent today 
     against the backdrop of polarization in our nation this 
     election year and the tensions across the globe due to war, 
     disease, poverty and other problems. I pray that foundation 
     of unity you embody around the person of Jesus may be an 
     example to the world and a catalyst for peace, freedom and 
     reconciliation as each of us discovers in our own hearts the 
     love and forgiveness He offers to those who seek and turn to 
     him in repentance and faith. May God richly bless your time 
     of fellowship and inspiration this morning. And may the Lord 
     give each of you a special sense of the Spirit as you pray 
     together and pray in Jesus' name, signed Billy Graham.
       Senator Sessions: Jesus said that if we had faith as small 
     as a mustard seed, we could move mountains. We experience a 
     similar miracle when we hear the size of the voice that comes 
     out of the relatively small body of our singer, Jackie 
     Evancho. She is eleven. God has given her an extraordinary 
     gift and we are thrilled she is here to share it with us. 
     Please welcome Jackie Evancho.
       Song ``To Believe'', sung by Miss Jackie Evancho
       Senator Pryor: Wow, thank you Jackie. That was phenomenal. 
     Thank you so much. We have quite the head table here. We have 
     the runner up to America's Got Talent, the winner of the 
     Heisman Trophy, the winner of the Nobel Prize and the most 
     powerful woman in American history, so thank you all for 
     being here.
       Senator Sessions: Pretty impressive but when we come before 
     God, all the fancy titles are brought down and the humble 
     regular people are raised up. We are all equally

[[Page 3805]]

     of value before our Creator. Allow me to introduce some of 
     our presenters who will come to the podium when their turn 
     arises. As a Senator representing the national champion 
     Alabama--I never get tired of slipping that in--I get to 
     introduce the football player. We are proud to have a Baylor 
     Bear with us, Mr. Robert Griffin III, RG3, the winner of the 
     2011 Heisman Trophy. He excelled at finishing drives and 
     games so we have asked him to do our closing prayer.
       We always honor our nation's military each year by asking 
     one of their own to be a part of the program. Today we are 
     proud to have Colonel Kelly Martin, an active duty Air Force 
     officer who serves in the operations directorate of the Joint 
     Staff at the Pentagon. During her career as a pilot, she did 
     countless in-flight refueling, so she knows a thing or two 
     about prayer. She will lead us in a prayer for American 
     national leaders.
       Next is Congressman and Dr. Paul Broun from Georgia. Both 
     he and Congressman McIntyre lead the House breakfast group. 
     Every ship has an anchor and in our Senate breakfast prayer 
     group, Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii has been our anchor for 
     many years. We are going to miss him when he retires. We have 
     asked him to say our prayer for world leaders. I have not 
     known anyone, from Alabama or elsewhere, who has better lived 
     their life in the Spirit of Jesus than has Danny Akaka. 
     Danny, thank you for all you do to make the Senate and our 
     government and nation a better place.
       We are also joined by our colleague, Dr. Tom Coburn who 
     passionately represents the people of Oklahoma and the 
     Senate. He will give us a reading from the Scriptures. If you 
     know Tom, you know that his faith impacts his life, and we 
     all know that. Next, I have the honor and privilege of 
     introducing my wife, Mrs. Mary Sessions, my partner for 42 
     years who has enabled me to be able to serve, and has 
     provided us with three children and five grandchildren.
       We are very grateful once again to welcome the First Lady 
     of the United States, Michelle Obama. None of us can even 
     imagine the burdens that you carry as the spouse and the 
     leader of our nation. We thank you and pray for you and honor 
     your work on the behalf of the health of our nation's 
     children and all Americans.
       Senator Pryor: Mr. President, did you hear the little thing 
     about the national championship? This year it was Alabama, 
     last year it was Auburn, it never stops. You see what I have 
     to put up with?
       What most people don't fully realize is that the government 
     is a team sport. We are all thankful to have our tireless and 
     passionate Vice President running all over the country and 
     all over the world to accomplish our country's most important 
     work, Vice President Joe Biden.
       The next person I want to introduce is my wife, Jill Pryor, 
     the best person in the world.
       You have already met Jackie Evancho. She is going to sing 
     one more song in a few minutes but I think after that she has 
     to leave here and go study for a spelling test. Sitting next 
     to her is her mother, the proudest mother in the room, Mrs. 
     Lisa Evancho. Thank you both for being here.
       Shortly we are going to hear a greeting from our 
     counterparts who lead the House prayer breakfast group. They 
     make those of us at the head table feel extra safe because 
     one is a doctor and the other is a black belt in Tae Kwando. 
     One kind of tears you up and one tears you down, namely 
     Congressman MacIntyre of North Carolina and Congressman Broun 
     of Georgia. Thank you for being here.
       One of the people in the room who needs no introduction is 
     Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. We thank her for her inspiring 
     service to the country and her support for the prayer 
     breakfast over the years. We look forward to the Scripture 
     that she is about to read. Madam Leader.
       Representative Nancy Pelosi: Thank you very much to Senator 
     Pryor for the invitation to read from the Holy Scriptures 
     this morning. Let us all be grateful for the fellowship that 
     brings us all together with our President of the United 
     States and the First Lady, the Vice President--who said after 
     Jackie finished singing, ``now I know how the angels sound, 
     so beautiful''--the fellowship that brings us together as 
     colleagues, our international guests and of course most of 
     all our men and women in uniform who give us the opportunity 
     to exercise freely our faith.
       I am honored for the opportunity to read from the Holy 
     Scriptures, from the Old Testament. When I was asked by 
     Senator Pryor to do so, I went right to Solomon. We all know 
     over the ages that King Solomon has been recognized for his 
     great wisdom, but it is really important to note that his 
     wisdom sprang from humility, and that must be our prayer. 
     Solomon's prayer is heralded in at least two books of the 
     Bible, the Second Book of Chronicles and the First Book of 
     Kings. A reading from the First Book of Kings:
       God appeared to Solomon in a dream during the night. God 
     said, ``ask what you would like me to give to you.'' Solomon 
     replied, ``You showed most faithful love to your servant 
     David, my father. When he lived his life before you in 
     faithfulness and uprightness and in integrity of heart, you 
     have continued this most faithful love to him by allowing his 
     son to sit on the throne today. Now my God, you have made me 
     your servant king in succession to David, my father.
       ``But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership and 
     here is your servant surrounded by your people whom you have 
     chosen, of people so numerous that its number cannot be 
     counted or reckoned.'' So Solomon said, ``give your servant a 
     heart to understand how to govern your people, how to discern 
     between good and evil, for how could one otherwise govern 
     such a great people as yours?'' It pleased God that Solomon 
     should have asked for this. ``Since you have asked for 
     this,'' God said, ``and not asked for long life for yourself 
     or riches or vengeance upon your enemies, but have asked for 
     discerning judgment for yourself here and now, I do what you 
     ask. I give you wisdom and understanding as no one has ever 
     had before and no one will have after you.'' The whole world 
     sought audience with Solomon to know the wisdom God had put 
     in his heart.
       May our message from this reading be that we have the 
     humility to ask God for what pleases him so that we can do 
     his work. Amen.
       Representative Paul Broun: Good morning. I am Dr. Paul 
     Broun. I am a physician and a Representative from the 10th 
     Congressional District in Georgia, and a Republican. And this 
     is my friend, Mike McIntyre. As Senator Pryor just told you, 
     he is a black belt so I am going to be careful with what I am 
     going to say about him. He is a Democrat, a blue dog 
     Democrat, who represents North Carolina.
       I am also a member of the Gideons, so if you didn't have a 
     Bible in your hotel room, please let me know and we will be 
     sure to get you one. In fact, I am a Gideon because it was a 
     Gideon Bible that led me to the Lord. I accepted Him as my 
     Lord and Savior some time ago. We thank you for coming to the 
     breakfast today, especially our honored guests from all 
     around the world. We are up here to bring greetings from our 
     weekly Congressional House breakfast group and to give you a 
     bit of a sense of what goes on there.
       We pray, we study the Scriptures, we share our family 
     struggles and needs and our personal needs. We even try to 
     sing sometimes. We call it the best hour of the week because 
     it absolutely is. It is where Democrats and Republicans can 
     come together, put politics aside, put partisanship aside. 
     And we are just personal friends, brothers and sisters in 
     Christ. And we worship our God together.
       Over 25 years ago Jesus Christ changed my life when I 
     accepted him as my personal Lord and Savior. He gave me not 
     only a personal peace but he gave me a purpose in my life to 
     serve him and to live for him. There is no rule that says I 
     have to check my faith when I go through the doors of the 
     House chambers. I could not do that if I wanted to. I am 
     always eager to talk about what God has done for me and in my 
     life and how he has changed me, how he saved me and made me a 
     child of God. I am thankful for our House group. The people 
     who founded the United States were people who prayed, they 
     knew the Scriptures. It is good for the whole nation to 
     follow their example in honoring the God that created each 
     and every one of us and his Son who died for us all.
       Representative Mike McIntyre: Thank you Paul. I am Mike 
     McIntyre. Serving in Congress is a great privilege but it is 
     also a tremendous challenge. I am very thankful that I get to 
     meet with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to come 
     together in our breakfast group where we can share heart to 
     heart.
       Washington, D.C. usually focuses just on the surface, on 
     the labels and where you come from and who you are supposed 
     to be identified with. Our weekly group allows us to go 
     deeper and to build friendships. I also want to tell you 
     about a new tradition. During the first vote of each week on 
     Monday or Tuesday night, depending on when we go into 
     session, several House members step across the hall in room 
     219 and leave labels at the door and pray like Solomon of the 
     Old Testament for wisdom for that week so that we will make 
     the right decisions.
       When I am back in my district, I often have people come up 
     to me and express concerns or complain about Washington, D.C. 
     Can you imagine that? They will go on for 30 minutes and 
     usually after I have listened carefully to all that they are 
     saying, I will say: ``Would you pray for us that we will make 
     the right decisions; if it's that important to you or to your 
     family or to your business or to your school or our country, 
     would you take the time to pray for us that we will make the 
     right decision?'' I have never had anybody refuse to do that 
     when I have asked them. Like Nehemiah in the Old Testament, 
     we want to build a wall of prayer around our nation's 
     capital. You can put a stone or a brick in that wall of 
     prayer if you would take five minutes each week to join us in 
     prayer, and you could choose the time. If you go to the 
     Congressional Prayer Caucus' website and say, ``You know 
     what, Mike, I will pray for you and for our President and all 
     our leaders at all levels of government.'' It is that 
     important. Because you see, the true source of power is not 
     found in the halls of Congress or in the Oval Office of the 
     West Wing or in the chambers of the Supreme

[[Page 3806]]

     Court. It is found when we are on our knees before the throne 
     of grace, before all mighty God asking for his help. Would 
     you please join us in that effort? That is something you can 
     do that would go beyond today. I think you will agree that 
     our country is worth it. God bless you all and thank you very 
     much.
       Colonel Kelly Martin, U.S.A.F.: Please join me now in a 
     prayer for our national leaders. Lord, it is with a humble 
     heart that we come before you today and ask for a special 
     measure of grace and wisdom to be given to the men and women 
     who lead our nation. For you know that it is the fear of the 
     Lord that is the beginning of wisdom and understanding. And 
     it is by your grace and love that you arm us with the 
     strength and guide our steps towards what is perfect. 
     Leadership is not easy and good leadership is rare and of 
     great value, but great leadership comes only from you. 
     Throughout our nation's history, you have blessed us with a 
     legacy of leaders who served with excellence and we are 
     grateful that this blessing continues today. Thank you for 
     each and every one of our leaders and their willingness to 
     serve our nation, its' people, and, ultimately, to serve you. 
     I ask that in the heat of battle, you give our leaders 
     clarity of mind and the courage to make right decisions 
     especially when it is not convenient or expedient. Give them 
     the faith to always seek you, a hope that will always sustain 
     them and, most importantly, give them a love that will unite 
     them. We ask that you bless our leaders, protect and watch 
     over them, give them a peace that passes understanding; bless 
     their families and continue to bless the United States of 
     America. I pray this in your Son's name, amen.
       Senator Tom Coburn: Good morning. I have the privilege of 
     reading from the New Testament Scriptures. The passage that I 
     want to read today has to do with the most powerful force the 
     world has ever known, love. In this room, we have people from 
     well over 100 different countries, all colors, all aspects of 
     faith and maybe from a few different points of view.
       Jesus said to him, ``you shall love the Lord your God with 
     all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.'' 
     This is the first and the greatest commandment and the second 
     is like it, that you should love your neighbor as yourself. 
     On these two commandments hang the law and the prophets. A 
     new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I 
     have loved you, that you also love one another. This is my 
     commandment to you that you love one another as I have loved 
     you, greater love has no one than this than to lay down ones 
     life for his friends.
       The power of love is manifested in the subtleness and the 
     happiness of our heart because as we give love and 
     sacrificial love, that is the only way, our lives are truly 
     fulfilled, by giving away our life. We have great examples of 
     that in our military, in our leaders as they sacrifice their 
     life and time and families, but the fact is, we are commanded 
     to do that. May God bless the reading of his Word.
       Senator Daniel Akaka: Let me add my aloha and welcome to 
     all of you gathered here at the 60th National Prayer 
     Breakfast. Let us pray. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, 
     heaven and earth are filled with your glory. We come to you 
     to pray for world leaders. Give them your wisdom to deal with 
     the challenging problems of our time; may your Spirit rest 
     upon them as they seek to empower people to lead quiet and 
     peaceful lives in all Godliness and honesty. Send out your 
     light and lead our world leaders with your truth. Bring them 
     through strife and warfare to lasting peace, uniting them for 
     the glory of your name. As they put aside selfish ambition, 
     make them instruments of your will to carry out your purposes 
     in our world. We pray this in your sovereign name, amen.
       Senator Pryor: When we take the long view of history, it is 
     pretty clear that ideas are more powerful than money or guns 
     or even governments. So if we follow that logic, ideas about 
     God would be the most powerful of all. One of the most 
     precious resources of the community of faith are those women 
     and men who help us think deeply and clearly about God, about 
     truth and about responsibility. Eric Metaxas has been a 
     friend of this breakfast for many years, so let that be a 
     warning to all of you, if you come too often, we may ask you 
     to speak. He has written two New York Times best sellers, 30 
     children's books, has been part of the Veggie Tale series, 
     and he has also debated the existence of God in academic 
     settings all over the world. I first became aware of him 
     through his book, ``Amazing Grace,'' about William 
     Wilberforce whose life makes a great guide book for anyone 
     who is serving in government. I just finished another book of 
     his, about another great public role model, ``Dietrich 
     Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy''. Ladies and 
     gentlemen, Eric Metaxas.
       Mr. Eric Metaxas: Good morning to all of you, honored 
     guests from around the world, from this great nation, mostly 
     to our President and First Lady. What an honor to be here. 
     Now, I have to ask, I want to know how many people are here 
     if you don't mind, just indulge me, would you raise your hand 
     if you are here and I just want to get a quick . . . okay, 
     well that was four. All right, well they said four thousand.
       Let me just say up front, I am not a morning person but it 
     is nonetheless an honor to speak at this august 
     extraordinarily early gathering. I know it is an august 
     gathering because they charged 175 dollars for breakfast. I 
     don't want to start out by being negative but I think there 
     may be some kind of money laundering thing kind of happening 
     here. I am speaking truth to power people, the price gauging, 
     it needs to stop. Even as a member of the elite one per cent, 
     I cannot afford this.
       We joke, but I know who puts this event on. They are a 
     highly secret, indeed a nefarious organization. They call 
     themselves ``the family.'' You see, the family not only runs 
     this event, they run everything that is happening in the 
     world. We, and of course I mean the President and I most 
     specifically, are all their puppets. The President knows what 
     I mean. He cannot admit this publicly, obviously, but 
     appearing here this morning we are simply doing their 
     bidding. Every U.S. President has been elected by them except 
     for Warren G. Harding. No one knows how Warren Harding was 
     able to buck that trend but we know that he paid dearly for 
     it, most notably by being saddled with the name Warren G. 
     Harding.
       I am not a politician so when I see a dais like this, I 
     immediately think of those wonderful Dean Martin roasts from 
     the 70's. That was my favorite show next to Sanford and Son. 
     I am being honest with you now and forgive me if I pretend 
     that I am up here with Ruth Buzzi, Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, 
     Red Buttons, Charlie Callas, Foster Brooks and Rich Little. I 
     am being honest, that is who I wish were up here. And to 
     those of you who are actually up here, I apologize from the 
     bottom of Don Rickles' heart, I am sorry.
       Okay, it is a National Prayer Breakfast, maybe we should 
     get serious and say something about prayer . . . nah. Okay, 
     seriously though, what is prayer? The real question is what 
     is prayer? Prayer is real faith in God, it is not phony 
     religiosity. It is not, `oh wouldst thou who art sovereign of 
     the universe take this arcane verbiage as evidence that we 
     believe that thou art an old fashioned and unpleasant and 
     easily annoyed and even cranky deity, and that to get thy 
     magnificent attention and so as not to annoy thee, we must 
     needs employ wooden and archaic and religious sounding 
     language.'
       That, my friends, is not prayer. That is, to use the 
     current terminology, a lot of pious baloney. Who said that, I 
     believe it was Nancy Pelosi? It was someone on the couch, but 
     I can't remember. But the point is, pious baloney is not 
     prayer, it is not faith in the God of Scripture. Imagine 
     talking to Jesus that way--he would almost laugh at you. 
     Imagine if we talked to him that way. Prayer is from the 
     heart. We don't try to fool God with phony religiosity. Adam 
     and Eve tried that with a fig leaf once that did not go so 
     well.
       And this gets to my theme this morning--the difference 
     between religion or religiosity and real faith in God. We all 
     know people who go to church but who do not show the love of 
     Jesus. We know people who know Scripture but sometimes use it 
     as a weapon. Real prayer and real faith is not religious, it 
     is from the heart. It is honest, it is real. I have had the 
     privilege of writing about two men, Wilberforce and 
     Bonhoeffer, whose lives illustrate the difference between 
     what mere religiosity and actually knowing what serving God 
     is. Let me first quickly tell you personally how I came to 
     see the difference between these two utterly different 
     things.
       First of all, I am the son of European immigrants who met 
     in an English class in New York City in 1956. And I thank the 
     Lord that my parents are in the room this morning. My dad is 
     Greek, hence my surname, Metaxas. My mom is German, hence my 
     deep love for Siegfried and Roy. Now, when you have one Greek 
     parent, you are raised Greek, forget about the German stuff. 
     Greeks believe that being Greek is the most important thing 
     in the world. Now I am 50 per cent Greek but I have always 
     tried to be more than 50 per cent Greek but I have never been 
     able to break the fifty per cent barrier, a little bit like 
     brother Mitt.
       I grew up of course in the Greek Orthodox Church. I was an 
     altar boy and had a modicum of faith, a mostly nominal, 
     cultural faith. I thought of myself as a Christian but then I 
     went to Yale University. Of course, it is the dream come true 
     for every son of working class European immigrants. But the 
     reality is that Yale, and most of our other universities but 
     especially Yale, is a very secular place, aggressively 
     secular. What little modicum of faith I had was seriously 
     challenged. The idea of God really is ignored or even sneered 
     at. By the time I graduated I was quite sure that it was 
     wrong to be serious about the Bible or to take Jesus 
     seriously, that it was hopelessly parochial and divisive. I 
     was not sure what was supposed to replace it but I was 
     confused. I guess I was lost. I wanted to be a writer. I was 
     not terribly successful. I floundered and then I drifted, 
     then I floundered some more, then I drifted and floundered 
     together, which you think is easy.
       Eventually things got so bad I moved back in with my 
     parents, which I do not recommend. I specifically do not 
     recommend moving in with my parents. I joke, but it was

[[Page 3807]]

     in fact a very tough time for me. I am being serious now. I 
     suffered then, during that period, from real, genuine 
     depression. I still struggle with that. This was a very 
     painful, soul searching time in my life. I took a really 
     depressing job which my parents forced me to take, thank you 
     very much. And while I was at this job, this miserable job, 
     thank you mom and dad, I met a man of some faith. And he 
     begins to share his faith with me, this secular Yale 
     agnostic, and I was in enough pain that I was willing to 
     listen a little bit to what he had to say. He was an 
     Episcopalian and I figured it was safe--they don't really 
     believe that stuff anyway. So I said ``yeah, you can keep 
     talking.'' But he turned out to be one those Episcopalians 
     who actually believed this stuff and knew the Bible backwards 
     and forwards and I was really challenged. We would have a lot 
     of conversations.
       I was not ready to accept what he was saying, not ready to 
     pray, to attend a Bible study, to go to church or to become a 
     weird born again Christian. But I was in enough pain to keep 
     listening. This friend of mine said to me that I should pray 
     that God would reveal himself to me--which seemed absurd 
     because I thought: I don't know if he's there so I don't 
     really want to pray to the oxygen in the room, to whom shall 
     I pray if he is not there? It is a conundrum you see. But 
     sometimes when you are in enough pain, and I was, you do 
     silly things--and I did pray. And I said, in my anguish, and 
     it was very real anguish. I said, ``God if you are there, 
     please reveal yourself to me; punch a hole through the 
     sheetrock, wave to me, say hello, show yourself to me.'' I 
     was desperate. Every now and again I would pray that prayer, 
     I would be jogging and I would pray that prayer, ``God help 
     me, I need help.'' It was an honest prayer. And prayers come 
     from a place of honesty, not religiosity. If you can say 
     ``help me Lord,'' God hears that prayer.
       Then one night during this time, around my 25th birthday, I 
     had a dream. We don't have time to go into it this morning 
     but it was an amazing dream. If you want to hear the story of 
     this amazing dream you can go to my website: EricMetaxas.com. 
     It is an amazing thing and it changed my life. God came into 
     my life, Jesus came into my life, and it is all true except 
     the part about the UFO and the Sasquatch which I made up. But 
     seriously, watch that if you don't mind because it really 
     happened, it is not made up.
       And when God came into my life overnight and He answered 
     that prayer, I wondered why hadn't I heard this before? Why 
     did I have to suffer not knowing? Why? I think part of the 
     reason is that I had rejected a phony religious idea of God. 
     Not God as he really is because when I encountered God as he 
     really is, I knew that is what my heart is longing for. That 
     is the answer. He is the answer to my pain and all my 
     questions. He is real and He loves me despite everything I 
     have done. He is not some moral code. He is not some energy 
     force. He is alive. He is a person. He knows everything about 
     me and about you. He knows my story; He knows your story, 
     every detail. He knows your deepest fears. He knows the 
     terrible selfish things you have done that have hurt others 
     and He still loves you. And He knows the hurt that others 
     have caused you. He knows us. He is alive. He is not a joy 
     killing bummer or some moralistic church lady. He is the most 
     wonderful person, capital ``P'', imaginable. In fact, his 
     name is Wonderful. Now, who would reject that?
       So at that point, I realized everything I rejected about 
     God was actually not God. It was just dead religion. It was 
     phoniness. It was people who go to church and do not show the 
     love of Jesus. It was people who know the Bible and use it as 
     a weapon, people who do not practice what they preach, people 
     who are indifferent to the poor and suffering, people, who 
     use religion as a way to exclude others from their group, 
     people who use religion as a way to judge others. I had 
     rejected that, but guess what? Jesus had also rejected that. 
     He had railed against that and called people to real life and 
     to real faith. Jesus was and is the enemy of dead religion. 
     Jesus came to deliver us from that. He railed against the 
     religious leaders of his day because he knew that it was all 
     just a front, that in their hearts they were far from God his 
     Father. When he was tempted in the desert, who was the one 
     throwing Bible verses at him? Satan. That is a perfect 
     picture of dead religion. Using the words of God to do the 
     opposite of what God does. It is grotesque when you think 
     about it. It is demonic.
       That summer as I came to faith, the guy who shared his 
     faith with me, Ed Tuttle, gave me a copy of ``The Cost of 
     Discipleship'' by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And he asked me if I 
     had ever heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I said, ``no.'' He 
     said, ``Bonhoeffer was a pastor who because of his faith in 
     Jesus stood up for the Jews of Europe.'' I was shocked. My 
     mother is German. She grew up during this period. Why had I 
     never heard this amazing story about Bonhoeffer before? I 
     remember thinking somebody really ought to write a book about 
     Bonhoeffer.
       I was not interested in writing biographies. I am far too 
     self-centered to spend that much time focusing on someone 
     besides myself. I went on to have a strange career writing 
     children's books, I wrote humor for the New York Times, I 
     worked for Veggie Tales. And then I wanted to share my faith 
     and I wrote a book with the ridiculous title ``Everything You 
     Always Wanted to Know about God but Were Afraid to Ask''. 
     Actually now it's a trilogy, three books. And one day I found 
     myself being interviewed on CNN about this book and I was 
     expecting one of those tough questions like, how can a good 
     God allow evil and suffering? But instead, I got a softball 
     question. The host on CNN said to me, ``you know there is 
     something here about Wilberforce''--and I had two sentences 
     in the book about Wilberforce--``Can you talk about that?'' 
     Suddenly I am on CNN being asked to talk about Wilberforce. 
     All I knew about Wilberforce was in the book--that he was 
     someone who took the Bible so seriously that he changed the 
     world forever.
       So I start talking about him briefly and next thing I know 
     a publisher calls me up and says ``there's a movie coming out 
     called `Amazing Grace'.'' And I was asked to write a book 
     about Wilberforce. Amazingly, I wrote a biography about 
     Wilberforce and everywhere I go talking about Wilberforce 
     people would say to me, ``who are you going to write about 
     next? Who are you going to write about next?'' Some people 
     asked me about ``whom will you next write?'' As a Yale 
     English major, I want to recommend the word whom. If English 
     is your first language, you may want to use the word whom. 
     You can get it free as an app on your iPhone, you just 
     download it. You use it as much as you want. ``Eric, about 
     whom will you next write?'' And I thought well, there is only 
     one person besides Wilberforce, only one about whom I would 
     write if I were to write a second biography. I remembered 
     Bonhoeffer and I did write that book. And I have to tell you, 
     nobody is more shocked by the reception of the book than I. 
     No one is more grateful to the Lord for the people who are 
     reading and talking about this book. I know that it was read 
     even by President George W. Bush who is intellectually 
     incurious as we have all read. He read the book. No pressure. 
     [Hands President Obama a book.] I just want to say no 
     pressure. I know you are very busy, Mr. President, but I know 
     sometimes you take plane rides and you have got time to kill, 
     so here. [Hands President Obama another book.] No pressure. 
     No pressure at all. Who am I to pressure you?
       Nonetheless, the lives of both of these men illustrate the 
     difference between phony religiosity and really believing in 
     God in a way that is real--that changes your life, that must 
     change your life, and the lives of others. Wilberforce is 
     best known for leading the movement to end the slave trade. 
     Now, why did he take that on? Do you know why? I am here to 
     tell you it is not because he was just a churchgoer, because 
     there were plenty of churchgoers in England in the day of 
     Wilberforce. And everybody in that day seemed to have no 
     problem with the slave trade or slavery, people who went to 
     church. The reason Wilberforce fought so hard was because 
     around his 26th birthday, he encountered Jesus. England paid 
     lip service to religion in those days. Everybody said ``I am 
     a Christian, I am English, yeah, we are Christians.'' But 
     they really seemed to think--most of them--that the slave 
     trade was a fine thing. So keep in mind that when someone 
     says, ``I am a Christian'', it might mean absolutely nothing. 
     But for Wilberforce it became real. It was not about 
     Christianity, it was about the living God and serving Him. 
     And Wilberforce suddenly took the Bible seriously--that all 
     of us are created in the image of God. He took this idea 
     seriously--that it was our duty to care for the least of 
     these. And he said, ``Lord, I will obey.''
       Now he fought politically, he fought hard and you know the 
     only people really fighting with him at this point were the 
     fanatical Christians. Did you know that? All the churchgoers, 
     all the religious people, they were not alongside him. Who 
     was alongside him in those days? The born again nuts, the 
     Quakers, the Methodists that people made fun of. They were in 
     the trenches because they knew they had no choice but to 
     regard the Africans as made in the image of God and worthy of 
     our love and respect. Everyone else was just going with the 
     flow, all the people who just went to church. As I say, they 
     got it wrong. They had not seen Jesus.
       Wilberforce took these ideas, these foreign ideas, from the 
     Bible and brought them into culture. You can read about it, 
     and not just in my book, which the President may read. But 
     you can read about it. This is historical fact. This is not 
     my spin, this is true. Wilberforce, because he believed what 
     the Bible said and because he obeyed what God told him to do, 
     changed the world.
       Today we argue about how to help the poor. Some say, ``Oh, 
     the public sector, government, is the answer.'' Others say, 
     ``The private sector, free enterprise.'' But today, we argue 
     about how to help the poor, not whether to help the poor. 
     Praise the Lord. The idea to care for the poor, the idea that 
     slavery is wrong; these ideas are not normal human ideas. 
     These are Biblical ideas imported by Wilberforce at a crucial 
     time.
       Human beings do not do the right thing apart from God's 
     intervention. We always do the phony religious thing. We go 
     with the flow. In Wilberforce's day going with the flow meant 
     supporting slavery, that Africans are not fully human. In 
     Bonhoeffer's world, in Nazi Germany, it meant supporting the

[[Page 3808]]

     idea that Jews are not fully human. So whom do we say is not 
     fully human today? Who is expendable to us? My mother lived 
     through this. There are people in this room who lived through 
     this. I was in Germany last week; I met people who lived 
     through this period. It was an extraordinary thing to be 
     there, to meet people who were the sons of heroes fighting 
     against Hitler. This was a moment ago that this horror 
     happened.
       Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 and he was born into an amazing 
     family. His father was the most famous psychiatrist in 
     Germany. This was a big, important amazing family. At 14, he 
     announces he wants to be a theologian. He got his doctorate 
     at age 21. Bonheoffer was a great theologian but he decided 
     in the midst of being a great theologian that he wanted to 
     get ordained as a Lutheran pastor. And then one day at age 
     24, he went to America to spend a year in New York City. And 
     he went to study at Union Theological Seminary. One Sunday a 
     fellow student named Frank Fisher, an African American from 
     Alabama, invited Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Harlem to a church 
     called Abyssinian Baptist Church. He said, ``why don't you 
     come with me?'' And Bonheoffer went with him and for the 
     first time in his life, in that church, he saw something that 
     was clearly not mere phony religion. He saw people worshiping 
     a living God. He saw people who understood suffering and 
     whose worship was real. Bonhoeffer said that in New York, in 
     America, he did not hear the gospel proclaimed. Think about 
     this, he visited many, many churches, yet he did not hear the 
     gospel proclaimed except, in his words, in the Negro 
     churches. That was the only place he saw the true gospel. He 
     saw true faith, living faith, people living it, preaching the 
     gospel of Jesus, living the gospel of Jesus. He saw this 
     among the suffering in Harlem and it changed his life.
       When he got back to Germany, people could see that he was 
     different. He was not intellectually different, but his heart 
     had been changed. He began to speak publicly about the Bible 
     as the word of God, the living word of God through which God 
     who is alive wishes to speak to us. So, he understood from 
     the black church in Harlem the idea of a personal faith, that 
     God is alive and wishes to speak to you. And it had a 
     political component because it is now 1932, the Nazis are 
     rising. Bonhoeffer begins to say things that you would not 
     hear in Germany, even in the churches in those days. He spoke 
     of Jesus as the man for others. He said ``whoever does not 
     stand up for the Jews has no right to sing Gregorian chants, 
     God is not fooled.'' His whole life was about this idea that 
     you have to have a living relationship with God and that it 
     must lead you to action--that you must obey God, that you 
     will look different.
       Now of course dead religion demonizes others, I just said 
     that, and apart from God's intervention, that is what we do. 
     So don't think that you won't do that. You will do that. We 
     are broken, fallen human beings so apart from God--that is 
     what we do. Do you think that you are better than the Germans 
     in that era? You are not. Not in God's eyes you're not. We 
     are the same. We are capable of the same horrible things. 
     Wilberforce somehow saw what the people in his day did not 
     see, and we celebrate him for it. Bonhoeffer saw what others 
     did not see, and we celebrate him for it. Now how did they 
     see what they saw? There is just one word that will answer 
     that, it is Jesus. He opens our eyes to his ideas which are 
     radical and which are different from our own. Personally, I 
     would say the same thing about the unborn. That apart from 
     God we cannot see that they are persons as well so those of 
     us who know the unborn to be human beings are commanded by 
     God to love those who do not yet see that.
       We need to know that apart from God we would be on the 
     other side of that divide fighting for what we believe is 
     right. We cannot demonize our enemies. Today, if you believe 
     that abortion is wrong, you must treat those on the other 
     side with the love of Jesus. Today, if you have a Biblical 
     view of sexuality, you will be demonized by those on the 
     other side who will call you a bigot. Jesus commands us to 
     love those who call us bigots; to show them the love of 
     Jesus. If you want people to treat you with dignity, treat 
     them with dignity.
       So finally, Jesus tells us that we must love our enemies. 
     That, my friends, is the real difference between dead 
     religion and a living faith in the God of the Scriptures, 
     whether we can love our enemies. Wilberforce had political 
     enemies but he knew that God had commanded him to treat them 
     with civility. He knew that he had been saved by grace. He 
     was not morally superior to the people on the other side of 
     the aisle. Martin Luther King told the people on the buses 
     that you must not fight back, that you must be willing to 
     turn the other cheek or get off the bus. Branch Rickey told 
     Jackie Robinson that if you want to win the battle, you need 
     to do as Jesus commanded and to be strong enough to not fight 
     back; that is how your enemies will know that there is 
     someone, capital ``S'', standing behind you, that it is not 
     just you.
       So if you can see Jesus in your enemy, then you can know 
     that you are seeing with God's eyes and not your own. So, can 
     you love your enemy? If you cannot pray for those on the 
     other side, if you cannot actually feel the love of God for 
     your enemies, political and otherwise, my friends, that is a 
     sure sign that you are being merely religious. That you have 
     bought into a moral system but you do not know the God who 
     has forgiven you. Only God can give us that supernatural 
     agape love for those with whom we disagree. That is the test. 
     It is an impossible standard apart from the grace of God. We 
     all fail that test. But thank God for the grace of God. The 
     grace of God is real. God wants to shed it abroad in every 
     heart, not just on some, on every heart. It is the only thing 
     , the grace of a living God, that can bring left and right 
     together to do the right thing.
       So can we humble ourselves enough to actually ask him in a 
     real prayer to show himself to us, to lead us to do what is 
     right? Can we do that for our country? For the world? This is 
     a Bonhoeffer moment. If we will humble ourselves, ask God, 
     cry out, Cri du coeur, cry from the heart, Lord lead us, will 
     you ask him to help you? The amazing grace of God is there 
     for everyone. You know Jesus is not just for so called 
     ``Christians'', Jesus is for everyone. The grace of God is 
     for everyone. I hope you know that.
       When I was 21 years old, I worked at the Boston Opera House 
     and Garrison Keeler showed up and he gave a talk. And at the 
     end of his talk he asked the audience if they wanted to sing. 
     They didn't, but he made them anyway. He led them in a song 
     called ``Amazing Grace'' and that a capella rendition has 
     stuck with me my whole life. I thought maybe some day I will 
     get some people to do that, not today of course. But then I 
     thought you know, if the President can sing Al Green, then 
     maybe you can sing with him. So we are going to try this, if 
     it goes well I will leave with my head up. You ready? If you 
     don't know the lyrics, pretend that you do. I want to hear 
     harmonies.
       All singing: Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a 
     wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind 
     but now I see.
       God Bless you.
       Senator Sessions: Thank you Eric, you have indeed blessed 
     us. You got our attention and gave us spiritual food. Now it 
     is my great honor to introduce the President of the United 
     States. Mr. President, we thank you for your one hundred 
     percent support that you have given to this prayer breakfast; 
     being here every single year and when you were a member of 
     the Senate with us. Mr. President, I personally want to thank 
     you for the way you strive for the betterment of all 
     Americans. You give your life to that. It was Abraham Lincoln 
     who first used the phrase that we are a nation under God. If 
     we are going to be a nation under God, then we have to 
     recognize the precious worth of every single person. Thank 
     you for your leadership. Ladies and gentlemen, the President 
     of the United States, Barack Obama.
       President Barack Obama: Well, good morning everybody. It is 
     good to be with so many friends united in prayer. And I begin 
     by giving all praise and honor to God for bringing us here 
     together today.
       I want to thank our co-chairs, Mark and Jeff; to my dear 
     friend, the guy who always has my back, Vice President Biden. 
     All the members of Congress and my Cabinet who are here 
     today, all the distinguished guests who have traveled a long 
     way to be a part of this. I am not going to be as funny as 
     Eric but I am grateful that he shared his message with us. 
     Michelle and I feel truly blessed to be here.
       This is my fourth year coming to this prayer breakfast as 
     President. As Jeff mentioned, before that I came as senator. 
     I have to say, it is easier coming as President. I don't have 
     to get here quite as early. But it has always been an 
     opportunity that I have cherished. And it is a chance to step 
     back for a moment, for us to come together as brothers and 
     sisters and seek God's face together. At a time when it is 
     easy to lose ourselves in the rush and clamor of our own 
     lives, or get caught up in the noise and rancor that too 
     often passes as politics today, these moments of prayer slow 
     us down. They humble us. They remind us that no matter how 
     much responsibility we have, how fancy our titles, how much 
     power we think we hold, we are imperfect vessels. We can all 
     benefit from turning to our Creator, listening to Him, 
     avoiding phony religiosity and listening to Him.
       This is especially important right now, when we are facing 
     some big challenges as a nation. Our economy is making 
     progress as we recover from the worst crisis in three 
     generations, but far too many families are still struggling 
     to find work or make the mortgage, pay for college, or, in 
     some cases, even buy food. Our men and women in uniform have 
     made us safer and more secure, and we are eternally grateful 
     to them, but war and suffering and hardship still remain in 
     too many corners of the globe. And a lot of those men and 
     women who we celebrate on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day come 
     back and find that, when it comes to finding a job or getting 
     the kind of care that they need, we are not always there the 
     way that we need to be.
       It is absolutely true that meeting these challenges 
     requires sound decision-making,

[[Page 3809]]

     requires smart policies. We know that part of living in a 
     pluralistic society means that our personal religious beliefs 
     alone cannot dictate our response to every challenge we face.
       But in my moments of prayer, I am reminded that faith and 
     values play an enormous role in motivating us to solve some 
     of our most urgent problems, in keeping us going when we 
     suffer setbacks, and opening our minds and our hearts to the 
     needs of others.
       We cannot leave our values at the door. If we leave our 
     values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that 
     has held our nation together for centuries, and allowed us to 
     become somewhat more perfect a union. Frederick Douglass, 
     Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., 
     Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel--the majority of great reformers 
     in American history did their work not just because it was 
     sound policy, or they had done good analysis, or understood 
     how to exercise good politics, but because their faith and 
     their values dictated it, and called for bold action--
     sometimes in the face of indifference, sometimes in the face 
     of resistance.
       This is no different today for millions of Americans, and 
     it is certainly not for me.
       I wake up each morning and I say a brief prayer, and I 
     spend a little time in Scripture and devotion. And from time 
     to time, friends of mine, some of who are here today, friends 
     like Joel Hunter or T.D. Jakes, will come by the Oval Office, 
     or they will call on the phone, or they will send me an 
     email, and we will pray together, and they will pray for me 
     and my family, and for our country.
       But I don't stop there. I would be remiss if I stopped 
     there; if my values were limited to personal moments of 
     prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends. So, 
     instead, I must try--imperfectly, but I must try--to make 
     sure those values motivate me as one leader of this great 
     nation.
       And so when I talk about our financial institutions playing 
     by the same rules as folks on Main Street, when I talk about 
     making sure insurance companies are not discriminating 
     against those who are already sick, or making sure that 
     unscrupulous lenders are not taking advantage of the most 
     vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it 
     will make the economy stronger for everybody. But I also do 
     it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country 
     have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, 
     and I believe in God's command to ``love thy neighbor as 
     thyself.'' I know that a version of that Golden Rule is found 
     in every major religion and every set of beliefs--from 
     Hinduism to Islam to Judaism to the writings of Plato.
       And when I talk about shared responsibility, it is because 
     I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are 
     struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it is 
     hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people 
     with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely 
     pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to 
     myself, if I am willing to give something up as someone who 
     has been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax 
     breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that is going to make 
     economic sense.
       But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's 
     teaching that ``for unto whom much is given, much shall be 
     required.'' It mirrors the Islamic belief that those who have 
     been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to 
     help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and 
     consideration for others.
       When I talk about giving every American a fair shot at 
     opportunity, it is because I believe that when a young person 
     can afford a college education or someone who has been 
     unemployed suddenly has a chance to retrain for a job and 
     regain that sense of dignity and pride, and contributing to 
     the community as well as supporting their families--that 
     helps us all prosper.
       It means maybe that research lab on the cusp of a 
     lifesaving discovery, or the company looking for skilled 
     workers is going to do a little bit better, and we will all 
     do better as a consequence. It makes economic sense. But part 
     of that belief comes from my faith in the idea that I am my 
     brother's keeper and I am my sister's keeper; that as a 
     country, we rise and fall together. I am not an island. I am 
     not alone in my success. I succeed because others succeed 
     with me.
       And when I decide to stand up for foreign aid, or prevent 
     atrocities in places like Uganda, or take on issues like 
     human trafficking, it is not just about strengthening 
     alliances, or promoting democratic values, or projecting 
     American leadership around the world, although it does all 
     those things and it will make us safer and more secure. It is 
     also about the Biblical call to care for the least of these--
     for the poor, for those at the margins of our society.
       To answer the responsibility we are given in Proverbs to 
     ``speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the 
     rights of all who are destitute.'' And for others, it may 
     reflect the Jewish belief that the highest form of charity is 
     to do our part to help others to stand on their own.
       Treating others as you want to be treated; requiring much 
     from those who have been given so much; living by the 
     principle that we are our brother's keeper; caring for the 
     poor and those in need. These values are old. They can be 
     found in many denominations and many faiths, among many 
     believers and among many non-believers. And they are values 
     that have always made this country great--when we live up to 
     them; when we don't just give lip service to them; when we 
     don't just talk about them one day a year. And they are the 
     ones that have defined my own faith journey.
       And today, with as many challenges as we face, these are 
     the values I believe we are going to have to return to in the 
     hope that God will buttress our efforts.
       Now, we can earnestly seek to see these values lived out in 
     our politics and our policies, and we can earnestly disagree 
     on the best way to achieve these values. In the words of C.S. 
     Lewis, ``Christianity has not, and does not profess to have a 
     detailed political program. It is meant for all men at all 
     times, and the particular program which suited one place or 
     time would not suit another.''
       Our goal should not be to declare our policies as Biblical. 
     It is God who is infallible, not us. Michelle reminds me of 
     this often. So instead, it is our hope that people of 
     goodwill can pursue their values and common ground and the 
     common good as best they know how, with respect for each 
     other. And I have to say that sometimes we talk about 
     respect, but we don't act with respect towards each other 
     during the course of these debates.
       But each and every day, for many in this room, the Biblical 
     injunctions are not just words, they are also deeds--every 
     single day, in different ways, so many of you are living out 
     your faith in service to others.
       Just last month, it was inspiring to see thousands of young 
     Christians filling the Georgia Dome at the Passion 
     Conference, to worship the God who sets the captives free and 
     work to end modern slavery. Since we have expanded and 
     strengthened the White House faith-based initiative, we have 
     partnered with Catholic Charities to help Americans who were 
     struggling with poverty, worked with organizations like World 
     Vision and American Jewish World Service and Islamic Relief 
     to bring hope to those suffering around the world.
       Colleges across the country have answered our Interfaith 
     Campus Challenge, and students are joined together across 
     religious lines in service to others. From promoting 
     responsible fatherhood to strengthening adoption, from 
     helping people find jobs to serving our veterans, we are 
     linking arms with faith-based groups all across the country.
       I think we all understand that these values cannot truly 
     find voice in our politics and our policies unless they find 
     a place in our hearts. The Bible teaches us to ``be doers of 
     the word and not merely hearers.'' We are required to have a 
     living, breathing, active faith in our own lives. And each of 
     us is called on to give something of ourselves for the 
     betterment of others--and to live the truth of our faith not 
     just with words, but with deeds.
       So even as we join the great debates of our age--how we 
     best put people back to work, how we ensure opportunity for 
     every child, the role of government in protecting this 
     extraordinary planet that God has made for us, how we lessen 
     the occasions of war--even as we debate these great issues, 
     we must be reminded of the difference that we can make each 
     day in our small interactions, in our personal lives.
       As a loving husband, or a supportive parent, or a good 
     neighbor, or a helpful colleague--in each of these roles, we 
     help bring His kingdom to Earth. And as important as 
     government policy may be in shaping our world, we are 
     reminded that it is the cumulative acts of kindness and 
     courage and charity and love, It is the respect that we show 
     each other and the generosity that we share with each other 
     that in our every day lives will somehow sustain us during 
     these challenging times. John tells us that, ``If anyone has 
     material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no 
     pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear 
     children, let us not love with words or tongue but with 
     actions and in truth.''
       Mark read a letter from Billy Graham, and it took me back 
     to one of the great honors of my life, which was visiting 
     Reverend Graham at his mountaintop retreat in North Carolina, 
     when I was on vacation with my family in a hotel not far 
     away.
       And I can still remember winding up the path, up a mountain 
     to his home. Ninety-one years old at the time, facing various 
     health challenges, he welcomed me as he would welcome a 
     family member or a close friend. This man who had prayed 
     great prayers that inspired a nation, this man who seemed 
     larger than life, greeted me and was as kind and as gentle as 
     could be.
       And we had a wonderful conversation. Before I left, 
     Reverend Graham started to pray for me, as he had prayed for 
     so many Presidents before me. And when he finished praying, I 
     felt the urge to pray for him. I didn't really know what to 
     say. What do you pray for when it comes to the man who has 
     prayed for so many? But like that verse in Romans, the Holy 
     Spirit interceded when I didn't know quite what to say.
       And so I prayed--briefly, but I prayed from the heart. I 
     don't have the intellectual capacity or the lung capacity of 
     some of my

[[Page 3810]]

     great preacher friends here who have prayed for a long time. 
     But I prayed. And we ended with an embrace and a warm good-
     bye.
       And I thought about that moment all the way down the 
     mountain, and I have thought about it in the many days since. 
     Because I thought about my own spiritual journey--growing up 
     in a household that was not particularly religious; going 
     through my own period of doubt and confusion, finding Christ 
     when I was not even looking for him so many years ago; 
     possessing so many shortcomings that have been overcome by 
     the simple grace of God. And the fact that I would ever be on 
     top of a mountain, saying a prayer for Billy Graham--a man 
     whose faith had changed the world and that had sustained him 
     through triumphs and tragedies, and movements and 
     milestones--that simple fact humbled me to my core.
       I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that 
     moment--asking God for guidance not just in my personal life 
     and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in 
     the values that hold us together and keep us strong. I know 
     that He will guide us. He always has and He always will. And 
     I pray his richest blessings on each of you in the days 
     ahead.
       Thank you very much.
       Senator Pryor: Thank you, Mr. President, for sharing your 
     heart and your faith with us. You have a room full of people 
     here who are praying for you and your family. God bless the 
     President of the United States of America.
       Speaking of powerful people, let's hear one more time from 
     Jackie Evancho.
       ``The Lord's Prayer'' sung by Miss Jackie Evancho.
       Senator Sessions: Thank you, Jackie, and may God's 
     blessings continue with you. My thanks to the President, 
     Eric, all our speakers up here this morning You have given us 
     a lot to think about. Now it is our job to ponder these 
     things in our hearts and to turn those good ideas into 
     action.
       Senator Pryor: Being a part of this National Prayer 
     Breakfast is a great privilege and now it becomes a great 
     responsibility. I believe God is counting on you and me to 
     love and pray where we are. Let's complain a lot less and 
     let's pray and love a lot more so God can use us to make a 
     better world. And now to close us in prayer is Robert Griffin 
     III of Baylor University.
       Mr. Robert Griffin, III: Before I close in prayer, I would 
     just like to say, ``Sic em, Bears.'' And to the President, if 
     you ever get a little tired of running the country or 
     anything like that, a little bored, I would love to play you 
     in basketball. It would be a friendly competition because I 
     wouldn't want anyone to feel like I was trying to hurt you or 
     anything, so I wouldn't dunk on you at all. This has been a 
     really long breakfast. The longest I have ever been a part 
     of. I guess everyone up here got the memo except for me 
     because both of my cups are empty because I drank them. No 
     one else drank anything and I really have to use the 
     bathroom. So will go ahead and close this out so we can all 
     go ahead and do that.
       If you could bow your heads, please. Father God, we thank 
     you for this day as a day you have made and we rejoice and we 
     are glad in it. Today has truly been a great day, many great 
     speakers and a lovely singer who has blessed all of our 
     hearts and brought many to tears. Father God, in Jesus' name, 
     we thank you that we could sit up here and thank you for so 
     many different things and be here all day. But most of all, 
     we thank you above all for having the ability to make a 
     difference in everyone's lives and giving us the power to go 
     out and change the world. And we thank you for your love, 
     your grace and your mercy and as we leave today, we thank you 
     that we take those qualities that can show the world not only 
     with our words but with our actions. In Jesus' name we pray, 
     Amen.

                          ____________________