All the Bible verses in this edition of The Presidential Prayer Team
for Kids Update are from The New Living Translation of the Bible.
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  • Billy Graham’s great tip on how—and where—to pray!
  • Meet a great Hispanic American who serves you and our nation.
  • A well known president starts his inaugural speech with prayer—who was it?

Things to pray for
These fortunate college women were among the many students honored at the White House on Thursday during the photo opportunity for the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Sports Champions. President Bush posed with each team in a different spot in the White House. These students represent the University of Maryland—no they’re not the basketball champs, they are the field hockey team. The University of Maryland brought three NCAA Championship teams to the White House this week—Women’s basketball and men’s soccer in addition to the field hockey women! Photo courtesy of the White House.

  1. There are a lot of issues that people are concerned about right now—especially the issue of immigration! Members of Congress are working hard to bring a workable law to the President before they leave for their Easter recess next week, so pray for those working to create an immigration reform bill that will serve the highest interests of our country and humankind. Pray that all the concerns will be thoughtfully considered, including border security, amnesty and guest worker provisions.
  2. Pray for the problems that are still going on in Iraq, where many people are still stirring up violence and destruction in order to keep the leaders there from establishing a peaceful government. Pray for leaders to pull together and develop a unity government so that Iraqi people can life a happy and normal life without fear of violence.
  3. Pray for President Bush as he gets together with President John Kufuor of the Republic of Ghana on April 12 to talk about regional security, trade, debt relief, education and combating HIV/AIDS. Pray that God will guide these two leaders into His wisdom.
  4. Our troops serve on the land, on the sea and in the air, and they value our prayers so very much, so pray for all the members of our military wherever and however they serve, asking God to protect and take care of each and every one of them. Pray for the hardships that some families are experiencing, asking God to help them through the tough times and to provide the love, support and help they need to make it!

Leaders to pray for
Photo courtesy of the White House.

Secretary of the Treasury--John W. Snow
John W. Snow has served our nation as Secretary of Treasury since February 2003. As one of the chief advisors to President Bush on economic policy, John Snow is a valuable member of the cabinet. When it comes to money or the economy, John Snow is one of the first people President Bush turns to!

John Snow is also responsible for the United States Mint. Do you know what that is? It’s not a piece of candy, that’s for sure. The Mint is the agency responsible for making all our money—both currency and coins. There is great tradition and great security in this department!

With his team at Treasury, John Snow works to bring about the very best conditions for prosperity and stability in the U.S and the world. They wage war on terror by fighting and investigating terrorist financing, money laundering, counterfeiting, and narcotics trafficking. He also is responsible for the Internal Revenue Service—the folks who collect our taxes. He represents the United States to other nations on a variety of economic and financial concerns at meetings and summits around the world.

Prior to coming to the Treasury Department, John Snow had a rich and rewarding career as Chairman and CEO of CSX, a rail shipping company. He taught economics at the University of Maryland, University of Virginia and law at George Washington University. He also served the Department of Transportation in a variety of positions.

Born in Toledo, OH, John Snow graduated in 1962 from the University of Toledo. He later earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia where he studied under two Nobel Prize winners. Snow lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife Carolyn. He has three children and three grandchildren.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

Secretary of Health and Human Services—Michael Leavitt
Mike Leavitt is no stranger to the Cabinet Room at the White House, because he was Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency before taking over Health and Human Services. He has plenty of positive experience to draw on, for Mike Leavitt not only served with the EPA, he was also the Governor of Utah for 11 years. When he was governor, he worked hard to reform welfare, manage natural resources and strengthen environmental stewardship. Mr. Leavitt also worked hard to make government services easily available on the Internet and he set high standards for his administration, insisting that leaders must be able to account for their actions to those whom they lead.

The Department of Health and Human Services is huge! And its services reach across our whole country. HHS provides more than 300 programs and it pays out over one-fourth of the money that the government provides for services. Maybe you have heard about Medicare and Medicaid, the health insurance programs our government has created for American senior citizens. Yep, HHS is in charge of those. It also works to fight disease and keep our food and medicines safe; it helps low-income families with their needs; it works to improve the health of moms and babies in our country, and it tries to help everyone stay off of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. They also help people in our country to be ready in case of all kinds emergencies, including terror attacks.

The HHS team includes more than 67,000 employees and has a budget of more than $581 billion! Secretary Leavitt is married to Jackie together they have five children. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics and business from Southern Utah State University.

Bible Verse of the week

You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to Him. Whatever you decide to do will be accomplished, and light will shine on the road ahead of you.
—Job 22:27-28

At last He stood up again [from praying] and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief.
—Luke 22:45

Have you decided how you will get involved in this year’s National Day of Prayer? If not, now is the perfect time! Talk to your mom or dad, your teacher, pastor or youth leader. You can get all kinds of helpful resources on our website HERE, and when you tell your friends, they will probably want to be involved with you. Praying for our country is one of the greatest things kids can do!

If you’d like, write us and tell us what you plan to do. We can tell other kids how you are getting involved, and that will encourage them! editor@presidentialprayerteam.org

You know about Billy Graham, don’t you? He is one of the most beloved people in the world, and some say he has appeared personally before more people than anyone else in the world. (We know you are probably thinking of the Pope, but Rev. Graham has been speaking to huge live audiences since 1947! That’s a long time ago!) One of the reasons people love Billy Graham so much is because he always explains things in a way the people can easily understand. In this quote, he explains a really well-known Bible verse, Psalm 37:4.

Your petitions should always be conditioned by ‘Thy will be done.’ ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart’ (Psalm 37:4). But the delighting of oneself in Him precedes the fulfillment of our desires. Delighting ourselves in Him will direct our desires, so God can answer our petitions. Remember that you can pray any time, anywhere. Washing dishes, digging ditches, working in the office, in the shop, on the athletic field, even in prison—you can pray and know God hears!
--Rev. Billy Graham

QUESTION 1

Which of the following would you say is true about the way Billy Graham explains Psalm 37:4?

  1. When you meditate on the promise of Psalm 37:4, it’s really important that you remember that God wants to give you anything you dream of.
  2. When you meditate on the promise of Psalm 37:4 it’s important to keep your heart attuned to God’s will first and foremost.
  3. When you meditate on the promise of Psalm 37:4, it is important to delight in God first. That way you can get your desires in tune with God’s desires.

QUESTION 2

Read Rev. Graham’s quote again. Which of the following is true?

  1. Rev. Graham says it’s important to only pray in special places like church or the top of a mountain.
  2. Only garbage men, ditch diggers and athletes can pray in their workplace.
  3. Anyone can pray anywhere, and that’s a great thing to practice.

This photo shows Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor introducing newly sworn-in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. President Bush, Gonzales’ mother, his wife, Rebecca and his sons are shown as well. Photo courtesy of the White House.

An American Inspiration
Alberto Gonzales’ story is an inspiring one, for he is one of eight children in the family of a migrant worker. His parents spoke little English and had only eight years of education between them. The family of ten lived in a two bedroom house in Houston with no hot water and no telephone. Lacking the funds to buy a home, his father and uncles built the home from scratch. Alberto and his siblings grew strong on his mother’s tortillas and beans. Though they had no tradition of education in their family, they did have a tradition of working hard to scrape out a living.

Alberto Gonzales loves to tell how he took a job at age 12 selling soda at the Rice University football stadium in order to help support his family. Lugging those trays to the highest part of the stands, Alberto dreamed of a better life. "I would stare over the stadium walls and watch the Rice students stroll back to the colleges, and I wondered what it would be like to be…a Rice student," Gonzales says.

Alberto Gonzales hugs his mother, Maria, after being sworn in as our nation’s Attorney General. Photo courtesy of the White House.

Color Blind
Texas high schools had just been integrated when Alberto Gonzales started high school in the mid-1960’s, enabling him to attend a MacArthur Senior High School and take college prep classes. Social interaction was still pretty tightly bound along racial lines back then, and most Hispanic kids just didn’t mix with other kids. That didn’t bother Al. He joined the Christian Student Union, the International Club, the football and baseball teams and stayed active with all of them.

Graduating high school with high honors, Al still believed college was beyond his grasp so he did what lots of kids did--he enlisted in the Air Force and was sent all the way up to an outpost north of the Arctic Circle at Fort Yukon, Alaska, a radar station. He did well, but the officers in command soon realized that he should aim his sights higher than a military career. They urged him to apply to a college: the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was accepted there and began in 1975.

With Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at his side, President Bush addresses a group in the White House Rose Garden. Photo courtesy of the White House.

In God’s Hands
Tiring quickly of science and engineering, Alberto’s interests turned to politics. Gambling his future, Alberto Gonzales prayed and applied to his hometown university, Rice in Houston. . "Ultimately I simply put it in God's hands by applying for a transfer to the school I once dreamed about attending as a boy," he says. "If accepted at Rice, I would leave and pursue a legal career. If denied, I would stay and fulfill my military obligations. This was my prayer." Alberto was accepted at Rice and did well. His next school--Harvard University where he studied law. When he completed his law degree and passed the bar, he worked with a prestigious law firm back in Houston. He continued in the practice of law until he met newly-elected Governor Bush of Texas who soon appointed him to be his attorney.

The list of “firsts” Alberto Gonzales has achieved as a Hispanic are many, but it all came down to his dream and the prayer he prayed that set him on a new path. His prayer eventually led to a fulfilling career in public service.

Presidential Endorsement
At Attorney General Gonzales’ swearing-in ceremony, President Bush made the following comments, reflecting on the great strides made by the young man from Houston with a dream in his heart and faith in his God: As he embarks on all these duties, Attorney General Gonzales has my complete confidence. From his early days of selling soda at Rice University football games, to his time in the Air Force, to his distinguished legal career and service on the White House staff, Al has been a model of courage and character to his fellow citizens. I've witnessed his integrity, his decency, his deep dedication to the cause of justice. Now he will advance that cause as the Attorney General and ensure that more Americans have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.

QUESTION 3

As you think about the life of Alberto Gonzales, which of the following would you say is true?

  1. Kids who dream about the future should get serious and deal with reality. Dreams aren’t real and they can keep you from dealing with life in the here and now.
  2. As an Hispanic teen, Alberto should have paid better attention to his Hispanic friends and just stayed with them.
  3. Even though many circumstances were working against him, Alberto did the right thing by working hard, following his dream and trusting his future to God.

This week’s presidential quote is from a man with a familiar name: George H.W. Bush. Did you know that only two presidents have prayed before beginning their inaugural address, and George H.W. Bush is one of them? Do you know who the other one is? Hover here for answer [Dwight D. Eisenhower.] With these words, former President Bush reminds us of the great burden every leader has to serve the people he or she leads. Whether you are on student council in school or the captain of a sports team or simply a big sister or brother to someone in your family, you have a big responsibility as you lead others. Read below to learn more.

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. Amen.
--George Herbert Walker Bush, Inaugural address, January 1989

QUESTION 4

When you read former President Bush’s words, which of the following would you say is true?

  1. President Bush wanted the Lord to write a certain phrase on the hearts of everyone listening so that they would all remember that he is the new leader and all power is his.
  2. President Bush wanted the Lord to write the phrase ‘use power to help people’ on peoples’ hearts so they could all learn to advance their own purposes.
  3. President Bush wanted the Lord to write that phrase on everyone’s hearts because he knew how easily sinful human beings can forget that power is a gift from God and God alone, not a tool for selfish advancement.

QUESTION 5

Which three things is President Bush thankful for on his inaugural day?

  1. Power, fame and a big name.
  2. Nice weather, a good turnout and pretty decorations at the Capitol.
  3. The love of God, the peace America was experiencing at the time and a common, shared faith in our nation.

QUESTION 6

President Bush seems to be acknowledging that every leader faces significant temptations as he or she steps up to lead others. He names three of those temptations. What are they?

  1. To abuse their power by getting the highest ratings, to appearing on television the most times and meeting with the most world leaders.
  2. To abuse their power by manipulating things to get what they want, to attract a lot of attention and to become famous for all time.
  3. To enjoy the great menu at the White House, to fly on Air Force One as often as possible and to make a lot of money writing books when your presidency is over.

QUESTION 7

As George H.W. Bush prayed that day he prayed in a way that followed the advice given in the previous quote by Billy Graham. What concept do the two leaders’ quotes have in common? Hover here to read.

It’s just terrific that President George H.W. Bush prayed when he was sworn into office. For starters, that’s a great way to begin a presidency. But when he asks God to “write on our hearts” he’s referring directly to and idea found in Scripture. Do you know where it is? Hover here to read

President Bush seemed to be very aware as he prayed that prayer that leaders can go two ways—they can serve God or they can serve themselves. The Bible is full of leaders who did both! Can you think of an example of a leader in the Bible who used his power and authority to help the people he led and was honored by God for doing so? Hover here to read

As a kid who prays for the leaders of your country, you may never have thought about being a leader yourself some day. Or maybe you are already a leader, working to serve people in your community. Whichever the case, we hope you’ve learned a lot from the leaders we’ve looked at this week. They all have something in common—they prayed and they trusted God, and that’s something good for anyone to do, especially kids who pray!

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