    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [May 4, 2006]
    [Pages 857-859]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the National Day of Prayer
    May 4, 2006

        Welcome to the White House. I am really glad you're here. Thanks for
    coming. And I'm honored to join you for the National Day of Prayer. On
    this special day, we give thanks for the many ways that America has been
    blessed, and we acknowledge the Almighty, who is the source of these
    blessings.
        I appreciate the chairman of the National Day of Prayer, Shirley
    Dobson. I notice you brought your old
    husband with you too. [Laughter] Thank you for
    organizing this event here at the White House and around the Nation.
        Mrs. Bright, it's good to see you. Thank
    you; welcome. I'm glad you're back again. Dr. Blackaby, thank you very much, sir, for being the honorary chairman
    of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. And we welcome
    Marilynn as well.

    [[Page 858]]

        I want to thank the members of the Cabinet who are here. Thank you
    all for coming. Appreciate you taking time out of your day to be here to
    join.
        I'm glad to see my friend Archbishop Demetrios. How are you, sir? Thanks for coming. I appreciate
    the military chaplains who are here. Thanks for administering to the
    needs and souls of the men and women who wear the uniform. Yours is an
    important job, and I'm grateful, as your Commander in Chief, for what
    you do.
        I want to thank Rabbi Ciment, Father
    Connor, and Jay Dennis for joining us. Thank you for your prayers and your
    strong statements.
        I thank Rebecca St. James for your
    beautiful music. We're proud you're here. I want to thank those who
    accompanied you. About the coat--[laughter]--your answer is, it's the
    voice that matters--[laughter]--and the spirit behind the voice.
        And, Gail, thank you for coming as well.
    We're proud you're here. Thanks for sharing with us.
        America is a nation of prayer. It's impossible to tell the story of
    our Nation without telling the story of people who pray. The first
    pilgrims came to this land with a yearning for freedom. They stepped
    boldly onto the shores of a New World, and many of them fell to their
    knees to give thanks.
        At decisive moments in our history and in quiet times around family
    tables, we are a people humbled and strengthened and blessed by prayer.
    During the darkest days of the Revolutionary War, the Continental
    Congress and George Washington--I call him the first George W.--
    [laughter]--urged citizens to pray and to give thanks and to ask for
    God's protection.
        More than two centuries since our first National Day of Prayer and
    Thanksgiving, we continue to ask for God's guidance in our own lives and
    in the life our Nation. Each year, thousands of citizens write letters
    and send cards to the White House that mention their prayers for this
    Nation and this Office.
        In my travels across the great land, a comment that I hear often
    from our fellow citizens is, ``Mr. President, I pray for you and your
    family.'' It's amazing how many times a total stranger walks up and says
    that to me. You'd think they'd say, ``How about the bridge?'' or, ``How
    about filling the potholes?'' [Laughter] No, they say, ``I've come to
    tell you I pray for you, Mr. President.''
        And the only thing I know to do is to look at them in the eye and
    say, ``That is the greatest gift that a fellow citizen can do for those
    of us who have been entrusted to lead our country.'' And for that--
    [applause]. And so I thank thanks--I say thanks to the millions of
    Americans who pray each day for our Nation, our troops, and our elected
    leaders.
        Prayer is a gift from Almighty God that transforms us, whether we
    bow our heads in solitude or offer swift and silent prayers in times of
    trial. Prayer humbles us by reminding us of our place in creation.
    Prayer strengthens us by reminding us that God loves and cares for each
    and every soul in His creation. And prayer blesses us by reminding us
    that there is a divine plan that stands above all human plans.
        In the stillness and peace of prayer, we surrender our will to God's
    will, and we learn to serve His eternal purposes. By opening ourselves
    to God's priorities, our hearts are stirred, and we are inspired to
    action--to feed the hungry, to reach out to the poor, to bring aid to a
    widow or to an orphan or to the less fortunate.
        On this day, we also remember that we are a people united by our
    love for freedom, even when we differ in our personal beliefs. In
    America, we are free to profess any faith we choose--or no faith at all.
    What brings us together is our shared desire to answer the call to serve
    something greater than ourselves.
        Over the past 5 years, I have watched the American people answer
    this call. Some serve their fellow man on distant shores, placing
    themselves in harm's way so that

    [[Page 859]]

    others might live in freedom. Others serve in our Nation's armies of
    compassion, bringing comfort and kindness to suffering communities at
    home and abroad. In millions of acts of service, the American people
    have shown the good heart of our Nation.
        From our Nation's prayerful beginnings, America has grown and
    prospered. Through prayer, we humbly recognize our continued dependence
    on divine providence.
        I want to thank you all for keeping prayer a part of our national
    life. May God bless each one of you, and may God continue to bless our
    Nation.
        And now it is my honor to welcome Reverend Jay Dennis.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:44 a.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to James Dobson, husband of National
    Day of Prayer chairman Shirley Dobson; Vonette Bright, former chairman,
    National Day of Prayer Task Force; Marilynn Blackaby, wife of Henry T.
    Blackaby, honorary chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force;
    Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church
    in America; Rabbi Sholom Ciment, director, Chabad Lubavitch of Greater
    Boynton, Boynton Beach, FL; Father Charles P. Connor, pastor, St. Rose
    of Lima Church, Carbondale, PA; Rev. Jay Dennis, pastor, First Baptist
    Church at the Mall, Lakeland, FL; entertainers Rebecca St. James and
    Gail Richardson. The National Day of Prayer proclamation of May 3 is
    located in Appendix D at the end of this volume.