It's Presidents Day and we are in presidential election season. America has been lucky to have had some great presidents. The political atmosphere and the caliber of people running for the highest office has not been up to the standards of past leaders. What is missing in the people who have been running for president in the last decade?
Looking back to past presidents there is one thing that can be noticed. They had a strong faith in God. I beleve there SHOULD be a separation of church and state, but NOT the separation of man from God. Religious faith, if lived out, encompasses a moral standard, and love for your fellow man. It is accountability and responsibility to a greater SOURCE. Religous faith reminds a person they have a duty to their fellow man and the universe to do no harm and to show love and respect for CREATION. It teaches to strive to be a BETTER person who represents the philosophy of the religion.
Of course their are religious beliefs that have factions who go astray. After all, Jesus even had a Judas who became radical in the political arena and strayed from the teachings of Jesus which encompassed love and compassion. There will always be religious zealots who do not model their faith. We are to RECOGNIZE those who use religion as a sheild to do nefarious thing in the name of thier god. But faith or spirituality does SHAPE a person, hopefully for the BETTER.
Below are some words from several of our presidents. In reading their words in regards to their faith, I ask you if you think they lived a life and served their country in a way that DEMONSTRATED they were guided and shaped in some way by their faith. I HIGHLIGHT President Abrahm Lincoln because his presidency was at a time when religious faith played an important role in shaping a country.
One of Lincoln's
earliest statements on the subject of his faith came in 1846:
"That I am not a member of any Christian church is true; but
I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with
intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of
Christians in particular....I do not think I could myself be brought to support
a man for office whom I knew to be an open enemy of, or scoffer at,
religion." [July 31, 1846]
Mrs. Lincoln stated that after the demise of their
son Willy in early 1862, her husband drew much closer to God. The evidence of
this increases steadily while he is in the White House. Many of Lincoln's presidential
speeches are superb examples of a man seeking God. Below is one of Lincoln's many
proclamations, as president, for a national day of fasting and prayer. Few
ministers of the gospel could have done better:
"It is the duty of nations as well as of
men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, and to confess
their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that
genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime
truth, announced in Holy Scripture, and proven by all history, that those
nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. And, insomuch (sic) as we know
that by His divine law nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments
and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity
of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted
upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national
reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest
bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and
prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has
ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand
which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened
us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all
these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel
the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God
that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended
power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and
forgiveness." [March 30, 1863]
On January 5, 1863 Lincoln responded to a letter from some
Quakers that had written to encourage him and tell him they were praying for
him:
"It is most cheering and encouraging
for me to know that in the efforts which I have made and am making for the
restoration of a righteous peace to our country, I am upheld and sustained by
the good wishes and prayers of God’s people. No one is more deeply than myself
aware that without His favor our highest wisdom is but as foolishness and that
our most strenuous efforts would avail nothing in the shadow of His
displeasure."
On September 4, 1864 Lincoln responded to Elizah P. Guerney,
another Quaker, thanking her for her prayers and kind letter:
"The purposes of the Almighty are
perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accurately
perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war
long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet
acknowledge His wisdom, and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work
earnestly in the best lights He gives us, trusting that so working still
conduces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He intends some great good to
follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no mortal could
stay."
The following demonstrates Lincoln's humble,
unquestioned dependence on God's aid. Rarely do our history books tell the
story of a president on his knees in prayer! This was a statement he made to
General Dan Sickles, a participant in the battle of Gettysburg:
"Well, I will tell you how it was. In
the pinch of the campaign up there (at Gettysburg) when everybody seemed panic
stricken and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the
gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day and locked the door and got
down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to Him mightily for victory at
Gettysburg. I told Him that this war was His war, and our cause His cause, but
we could not stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville... And after that, I don't know how it
was, and I cannot explain it, but soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul. The
feeling came that God had taken the whole business into His own hands and that
things would go right at Gettysburg
and that is why I had no fears about you." [July 5, 1863]
Lincoln stated the following upon receiving a
gift of a Bible from a group of African-Americans from Baltimore:
"In regard to this great book, I have but
to say, it is the best gift God has given to men. All the good Savior gave to
the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know
right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and
hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it." [Sept. 9, 1864]
PRAYERS BY PRESIDENTS
From
George Washington to George W. Bush, a sampling of personal and public prayers
of America's
presidents.
George Washington
A Prayer for Guidance
O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before
thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks,
that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past
from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and
pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing
the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of
body and soul....
Increase my
faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me repentance from dead works;
pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my
salvation; teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to
run in the ways of thy commandments; make me always watchful over my heart,
that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love
of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual
slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus
Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed
time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life bless my family,
friends, and kindred.
--An undated prayer
from Washington's prayer journal, Mount Vernon
Thomas
Jefferson (Attributed to Jefferson but actually from the Book of Common
Prayers, 1928.)A Prayer for the Nation
Almighty God,
Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that
we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy
will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and
from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people,
the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy
spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government,
that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy
law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth. In time of
prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer
not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
--Washington D.C.,
March 4, 1801
Abraham
Lincoln
A Prayer for Peace
Fondly do we hoPe, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may
speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continues... until every drop of
blood drawn with the lash shall be paid another drawn with the sword... so
still it must be said that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.
With malice
toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us
to see the right, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's
wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and
for his orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting
peace among ourselves and with all nations.
--Second
Inaugural address, March 4, 1865
Franklin
D. Roosevelt
A Prayer in Dark Times
Almighty God:
Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a
struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion and our civilization, and to
set free a suffering humanity...
Lead them
straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts,
steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be
long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success
may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we
know by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will
triumph...
Embrace these,
Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. And for us at
home--fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men
overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God,
to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great
sacrifice... Give us strength, too--strength in our daily tasks, to redouble
the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed
forces.
With Thy
blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to
conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of
our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a
sure peace--a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace
that will let all men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest
toil.
--D-Day,
June 6, 1944
John F.
Kennedy
A Prayer of Gratitude
Let us therefore
proclaim our gratitude to Providence
for manifold blessings--let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals--and let
us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human
beings throughout the world.
On that day let
us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family
affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God; and let us
earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the
great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice, and understanding among all
men and nations and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist.
--Thanksgiving
Day, 1963
Jimmy Carter
A Prayer for a Meaningful Life
I would like to have my frequent prayer answered that God let my life be
meaningful in the enhancement of His kingdom and that my life might be
meaningful in the enhancement of the lives of my fellow human beings.
I call upon all
the people of our Nation to give thanks on that day for the blessings Almighty
God has bestowed upon us, and to join the fervent prayer of George Washington
who as President asked God to "impart all the blessings we possess, or ask
for ourselves to the whole family of mankind."
--Prayers
from his inaugural address, January 20, 1977, and his Thanksgiving speech to
the nation, November 27, 1980
Ronald
Reagan
A Prayer for Healing
To preserve our blessed land we must look to God...
It is time to realize that we need God more than He needs us... We also have
His promise that we could take to heart with regard to our country, that
"If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and
pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from
heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Let us, young
and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first
step, in humble heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His
great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in
seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on
ourselves, our nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind,
now and always.
The time has
come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America...
Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal. Today, we utter no
prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on Earth.
If I had a prayer for you today, among those that hhave all been
uttered, it is that one we're so familiar with: "The Lord bless you and
keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace...." And God
bless you all.--From a
speech to the American people, February 6, 1986
George H.
W. Bush
A Prayer to Help Others
My first act as President is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads.
Heavenly Father,
we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace
that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely.
Make us strong to do Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write
on our hearts these words: "Use power to help people."
For we are given
power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world,
nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help
us to remember it, Lord.
The Lord our God
be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us; so
that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways... that all
peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
--Inaugural
address, January 20, 1989
Bill
Clinton
A Prayer for People in Public Office
May Those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never
know, say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the
American Dream alive for all her children; with the American promise of a more
perfect union a reality for all her people; with America's bright flame of
freedom spreading throughout all the world. From the height of this place and
the summit of this century, let us go forth. May God strengthen our hands for
the good work ahead--and always, always, bless our America.
--Second
Inaugural address, January 20, 1997
George W.
Bush
A Prayer for the Departed
We come before
God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who love them... On
this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask Almighty God to watch over
our nation, and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray
that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for
each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.
As we have been
assured, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from
God's love. May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And
may He always guide our country.
--From
his address to the nation after the World Trade Center attacks, September 14,
2001
America is a country of many religious practices. We expect our leaders to represent the morality of our nation. They are the representation of the people that elected them to speak for us, to us, and other world leaders. They have a responsibility to show the world the philosophical worldview the people of our country believe and live out. We have STRAYED from this concept.Other nations are beginning to doubt the United States and our IMAGE as a super power is crumbling. The philosophy of the United States is splintering. We are at a pivotal point in history where each individual must decide if the reputation of America is more important than personal ideology peppered with skewed religious leanings.
Hopefully, America will live up to its pledge, "... one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,..."
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