HOW PRESIDENTS PRAY

...... from Philip Yancey's post today 

"For one morning, at least, Washington politicians set aside their differences and come together to pray. I attended the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994 when Mother Teresa publicly scolded the nation on abortion policies as the Clintons sat alongside her at the head table. And ten years ago I watched Bono both praise and prod George W. Bush on the US response to AIDS and global poverty. (The rock star knows his Bible, by the way.) 

Behind the scenes, Christians invite many foreign dignitaries to observe a formal gathering centered on prayer. It's easy to be cynical about such public displays of piety--but read the presidents' comments and judge for yourself." 

Here is Barack Obamas prayer in 2012.... (Didn't expect this)

"Mark (Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.) read a letter from Billy Graham, and it took me back to one of the great honors of my life, which was visiting Rev. Graham at his mountaintop retreat in North Carolina when I was on vacation with my family at a hotel not far away..." 

"And we had a wonderful conversation. Before I left, Reverend Graham started praying 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 great preacher friends here to pray for a long time, but I prayed. And we ended with an embrace and a warm goodbye. 

"And I thought about that moment all the way down the mountain, and I've thought about it in the many days since. Because I thought about my own spiritual journey: growing up in a household that wasn't particularly religious, going through my own period of doubt and confusion, finding Christ when I wasn't 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."

View entire transcript from USA Today HERE.