    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [February 3, 2005]
    [Pages 121-123]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
    February 3, 2005

        Thank you for the warm welcome. You know, last night was a prayerful
    occasion. [Laughter] I noticed a lot of Members were praying that I
    would keep my speech short. [Laughter] I want to thank you for getting
    up so early in the morning. You resisted temptation to sleep in. Thanks
    for having us.

        I appreciate Jo Ann Emerson's leadership
    on this prayer breakfast. I want to thank Elaine Chao for her prayer and for representing my Cabinet, and I want
    to thank all my Cabinet officers who are here today. I appreciate the
    leadership of the Congress, Senator Frist and
    Leader Pelosi, Leader DeLay. I want to thank the Senators who spoke and appreciate the
    Congresspeople who are on the stage here as well.
        I want to thank His Excellency Marc Ravalomanana, from the--Madagascar, the President of that great
    country, and welcome to our country, Mr. President. Tambien, mi amigo,
    the President of Honduras, Ricardo Maduro,
    welcome. Glad you're here.
        I want to thank Wintley Phipps for his
    beautiful music. Sergeant Norman, your
    prayers worked. [Laughter] You did a fantastic job. Pretty darn eloquent
    for a person from Wyoming. [Laughter] Don't tell the Vice
    President. [Laughter]
        Tony Hall, as you can tell, I obviously
    made the right choice to send somebody--

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    really good job. And Janet, thank you for your
    service as well.
        Laura and I are really honored to be here.
    It's a fabulous moment in our Nation's Capital. This morning reminds us
    that prayer has always been one of the great equalizers in American
    life. Here we thank God for his great blessings in one voice, regardless
    of our backgrounds. We recognize in one another the spark of the Divine
    that gives all human beings their inherent dignity and worth, regardless
    of religion.
        Through fellowship and prayer, we acknowledge that all power is
    temporary and must ultimately answer to His purposes. And we know that
    affirming this truth is particularly appropriate in the heart of a
    Capital built upon the promise of self-government.
        No one understood this better than Abraham Lincoln. In November
    1864, after being reelected to his second term, Lincoln declared he
    would be the most ``shallow and self-conceited blockhead'' on Earth if
    he ever thought he could do his job ``without the wisdom which comes
    from God and not from men.'' Throughout a terrible Civil War, he issued
    many exhortations to prayer, calling upon the American people to humble
    themselves before their Maker and to serve all those in need.
        Our faith-based institutions display that same spirit of prayer and
    service in their work every day. Lincoln's call is still heard
    throughout the land. People of faith have no corner on compassion. But
    people of faith need compassion if they are to be true to their most
    cherished beliefs. For prayer means more than presenting God with our
    plans and desires; prayer also means opening ourselves to God's
    priorities, especially by hearing the cry of the poor and the less
    fortunate.
        When the tsunamis hit those on the far side of the world, the
    American Government rightly responded. But the American response is so
    much more than what our Government agencies did. Look at the list of
    organizations bringing relief to the people from Indonesia to Sri Lanka.
    They're full of religious names: Samaritan's Purse, American Jewish
    World Service, Baptist World Aid, the Catholic Medical Mission Board.
    They do a superb job delivering relief across the borders and continents
    and cultures.
        Today, millions of people across this Earth get the help they need
    only because our faith-based institutions live the commandment to ``love
    thy neighbor as thyself.'' Often, that means remembering the people
    forgotten or overlooked in a busy world, those in Africa suffering from
    HIV/AIDS, young girls caught up in the global sex trade, victims of
    religious persecution.
        In these great moral challenges of our times, our churches,
    synagogues, mosques, and temples are providing the vision that is
    changing lives. I've seen some of their miracles up close. Last June, I
    met Veronica Braewell, a 20-year-old
    refugee from Liberia. As a 13-year-old child, Veronica witnessed armed
    men killing children in horrific ways. As she fled this madness,
    Veronica left--was left for dead atop a pile of bodies, until her
    grandmother found her. In August 2003, Catholic Social Agency helped
    resettle her in Pennsylvania, where Veronica is now completing the
    circle of compassion by working in a home for elderly in Bethlehem,
    Pennsylvania, and studying to become a certified nursing assistant.
        When Veronica told me of her story, it
    was through the kind of tears no young woman should ever know. And when
    she finished, she dried her eyes and said, ``Thank you, Mr. President,
    for my freedom.'' But I told her, it wasn't me she needed to thank; she
    needed to thank the good hearts of the United States of America. The
    America that embraced Veronica would not be possible without the prayer
    that drives and leads and sustains our armies of compassion.
        I thank you for the fine tradition you continue here today and hope
    that as a

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    nation we will never be too proud to commend our cares to Providence and
    trust in the goodness of His plans.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:59 a.m. at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
    In his remarks, he referred to speaker and entertainer Wintley Phipps;
    Sgt. Douglas Norman, USA, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment; and Ambassador Tony
    P. Hall, U.S. Mission to United Nations Agencies for Food and
    Agriculture, and his wife, Janet.