    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [February 7, 2008]
    [Pages 155-157]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
    February 7, 2008

        The President. Gracias, mi amigo.
        Senator Kenneth L. Salazar. De nada.
        The President. Thank you, friend.
    Laura and I are honored to join you all here for the 56th National
    Prayer Breakfast. A lot of reasons to pray, and one, of course, is to
    strengthen us against temptation, particularly this morning--from
    temptation to stay in bed. [Laughter] Obviously, there's a lot of
    prayerful people here. [Laughter] And I appreciate your warm welcome.
        We have a lot of distinguished guests here today: Members of
    Congress, military leaders, captains of industry. Yet at this annual
    gathering, we are reminded of an eternal truth: When we lift our hearts
    to God, we're all equal in His sight. We're all equally precious; we're
    all equally dependent on His grace. It's fitting that we gather each
    year to approach our Creator in fellowship and to thank Him for the many
    blessings He's bestowed upon our families and our Nation. It is fitting
    that we gather in prayer, because we recognize a prayerful nation is a
    stronger nation.
        I want to appreciate Senators--[applause]--I appreciate Senators
    Salazar and Enzi. Thank you for putting this deal on.

    [[Page 156]]

    Madam Speaker, Leader Hoyer, Leader Blunt: Thank you all for
    being here. Welcome the Members of Congress. I appreciate the heads of
    state who are here. Welcome to America, again. I thank the members of
    the diplomatic corps who have joined us. Appreciate the distinguished
    dignitaries, all the members of my Cabinet--don't linger, get back to
    work. [Laughter]
        Admiral, thank you for your
    leadership. Always proud to be with the members of the United States
    military. I thank the State and local officials. Ward, thanks for your remarks. Those were awesome. I guess
    that's a Presidential word. [Laughter] Proud to be here with Michael
    W. and Debbie.
    They're longtime friends of our family. Thank you for lending your
    beautiful voice. Judge, I'm not going to
    hold the Texas thing against you. [Laughter]
        Every President since Dwight Eisenhower has attended the National
    Prayer Breakfast, and I am really proud to carry on this tradition. It's
    an important tradition, and I'm confident Presidents who follow me will
    do the same. The people in this room come from many different walks of
    faith, yet we share one clear conviction: We believe that the Almighty
    hears our prayers and answers those who seek Him. That's what we
    believe; otherwise, why come? Through the miracle of prayer, we believe
    He listens--if we listen to His voice and seek our presence--His
    presence in our lives, our hearts will change. And in so doing, in
    seeking God, we grow in ways that we could never imagine.
        In prayer, we grow in gratitude and thanksgiving. When we spend time
    with the Almighty, we realize how much He has bestowed upon us, and our
    hearts are filled with joy. We give thanks for our families. We give
    thanks for the parents who raised us. We give thanks for the patient
    souls who married us and the children who make us proud each day. We
    give thanks for our liberty and the universal desire for freedom that He
    has written in every human heart. We give thanks for the God who made us
    in His image and redeemed us in His love.
        In prayer, we grow in meekness and humility. By approaching our
    Maker on bended knee, we acknowledge our complete dependence on Him. We
    recognize that we have nothing to offer God that He does not already
    have, except our love. So we offer Him that love and ask for the grace
    to discern His will. We ask Him to remain near to us at all times. We
    ask Him to help us lead lives that are pleasing to Him. We discover that
    by surrendering our lives to the Almighty, we are strengthened,
    refreshed, and ready for all that may come.
        In prayer, we also grow in boldness and courage. The more time we
    spend with God, the more we see that He is not a distant king, but a
    loving Father. Inspired by this confidence, we approach Him with bold
    requests. We ask Him to heal the sick and comfort the dying and sustain
    those who care for them. We ask Him to bring solace to the victims of
    tragedy and help to those suffering from addiction and adversity. We ask
    him to strengthen our families and to protect the innocent and
    vulnerable in our country. We ask Him to protect our Nation from those
    who wish us harm and watch over all who've stepped forward to defend us.
    We ask Him to bring about the day when His peace shall reign across the
    world and every tear shall be wiped away.
        In prayer, we grow in mercy and compassion. We are reminded in
    prayer that we are all fallen creatures in need of mercy. And in seeking
    God's mercy, we grow in mercy ourselves. Experiencing the presence of
    God transforms our hearts. And the more we seek His presence, the more
    we feel the tug at our souls to reach out to the poor and the hungry,
    the elderly and the infirm. When we answer God's call to love a neighbor
    as ourselves, we enter into a deeper friendship with our fellow man and
    a deeper relationship with our eternal Father.

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        I believe in the power of prayer because I have felt it in my own
    life. Prayer has strengthened me in times of personal challenge. It has
    helped me meet the challenges of the Presidency. I understand now
    clearly the story of the calm in the rough seas. And so at this final
    prayer breakfast as your President, I thank you for your prayers, and I
    thank our people all across America for their prayers. And I ask you not
    to stop in the year ahead. We have so much work to do for our country,
    and with the help of the Almighty, we will build a freer world and a
    safer, more hopeful, more noble America.
        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:16 a.m. at the Hilton Washington Hotel.
    In his remarks, he referred to Adm. Michael G. Mullen, USN, Chairman,
    Joint Chiefs of Staff; Edward W. ``Ward'' Brehm III, Chairman of the
    Board of Directors, U.S. African Development Foundation; entertainer
    Michael W. Smith and his wife Debbie; and Carlos F. Lucero, U.S. Circuit
    Judge for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.