[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1794-1795]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, this week many people and leaders from the 
USA and all around the world converged on Washington, D.C., for the 
National Prayer Breakfast.
  Its tradition started 65 years ago under President Eisenhower and 
with partners in the Congress to take a little time to come together as 
leaders and a people in prayer and fellowship. It is a bipartisan 
effort--indeed, ideally, a nonpartisan coming together. Some might say 
a bunch of politicians coming together, well, but some very powerful 
testimonies come from this time together.
  This year, from right here in this building, Senate Chaplain Barry 
Black, who also served as a Navy admiral, gave a strong message on the 
power of prayer, that our prayers are, indeed, heard in Heaven.
  Two years ago, an amazing, humble, personal testimony delivered by 
NASCAR race driver Darrell Waltrip had everyone talking later. I would 
recommend anyone to find this video and enjoy that moving personal 
message of the lows and the highs, the lows and the highs of fame and 
celebrity and that you need God in your life.
  This can also happen, and does, in local communities as tens of 
thousands

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of prayer breakfasts happen on the National Day of Prayer, which this 
year will be May 4, as it is always the first Thursday of May, as 
proclaimed by President Reagan.
  I urge you as Americans, if you don't have one in your community, 
start one. If you do have one, please participate.

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