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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  • Are you ready for the National Day of Prayer?
  • Great words on prayer from great Christians.
  • Learn more about the fantastic history of prayer in our country—here!

Things to pray for
President Bush visited with these fortunate students at Parkland Magnet School for Aerospace Technology in Rockville, MD on Tuesday of this week. He told them that when he was in school, he wasn’t thinking about aerospace or robotics or other subjects that they deal with every day! Pray for the President as he meets with people all over the country, motivating them to do their very best for America. Photo courtesy of the White House.

  1. You’ve probably heard about all the changes taking place on President Bush’s staff and cabinet. Many of the people who have stepped down have been doing their jobs for quite some time, so they are ready for a break. Change can be a great opportunity for fresh ideas and new directions, so it’s a great time for us to pray for President Bush and his Chief of Staff, Josh Bolten, as they consider any changes to the staff and cabinet, asking God to lead them with His wisdom and help. Pray especially as they consider who to appoint as the new White House Press Secretary, since Scott McClellan stepped down on Wednesday this week. Pray also for Jim Towey who has headed up the President’s Faith Based and Community Initiatives for several years and is now leaving to be the President of Saint Vincent College in Pennsylvania.

  1. On Monday, the members of Congress will be returning to Washington after their Easter recess to get to work on some really big problems in our country. So we need to pray for each senator and representative to work very hard for good solutions to the problems facing them—especially immigration reform and the federal budget. Pray that God will guide them with His wisdom and help them to work well with each other to get the job done.

  1. As the National Day of Prayer approaches, pray that kids and adults alike will get involved and will tell others about this important event!

While members of the U.S. Congress return to Washington, members of the Iraqi Parliament are trying to set aside their differences and discover how they can unite to serve their people. Pray for them to succeed in this historic and crucial effort. Photo courtesy of epochtimes.com.
  1. Did you know that the Parliament in Iraq is trying to get things going? But they are having a very difficult time because different groups want their people to be in positions of importance. They are having a hard time working together to serve their country, so we must pray that the leaders of Iraq will set aside their differences and will put all their energy and effort into working together for a unity government that can help bring democracy and stability to that country. Pray that the violence will calm down and stop.

This U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. is providing security while on patrol near Abu Gharib in Al Anbar, Iraq. Pray for all our troops, wherever they serve! They count on our prayers. Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense.
  1. Pray for our troops who serve with faithfulness and diligence around the world from Afghanistan and Iraq to the US and many points between. They count on our prayers for protection and guidance, as well as care and safety for their families and loved ones who miss them while they serve. Give thanks for all the troops who are returning home, and pray for those who are taking off for Iraq and other foreign fields.

Leaders to pray for
Photo of Secretary Chertoff courtesy of the White House.

Director of Homeland Security—Michael Chertoff
As Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff is responsible for many key areas of security in our country, including our response in times of disaster and crisis. With his team, he also works to protect America by reducing our vulnerability to future attack, weapons of mass destruction and cyber terrorism. He must also coordinate everything he and his team do with efforts of all the other agencies and departments concerned with America’s security, from local police to all the other federal agencies like FEMA. That is a big job!

Michael Chertoff is a great person to lead our country’s Department of Homeland Security! He has been an investigator for much of his professional life, having worked as a U.S. Appeals Court Judge and as a U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. He has also served in the Department of Justice, and in the days following the September 11 attacks, he investigated all the details about the attacks to learn who planned and carried them out. He did a great job with the investigation, and was the one who linked them to al-Qaeda.

Homeland Security oversees the Coast Guard, the Inspector General, FEMA, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration, the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service.

Michael Chertoff is married to Meryl, and together they have two children.

Photo courtesy of NATO.

National Security Advisor—Stephen J. Hadley
The formal title for the National Security Advisor is Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. The NSA’s position is very interesting because she or he serves on the National Security Council within the Executive Office of the President. That means they work independently of the State Department and the Defense Department and can offer advice that is not colored by those departments or their policies.

Another interesting thing about the National Security Advisor is that the person in that position does not undergo the approval process of the Senate as do many other cabinet level positions. The NSA is an important member of the President’s team because he works very hard to provide the President with the most up-to-date information about America’s foreign and defense policies as well as advising the President on issues of national security.

The NSA is chaired by the President and includes the Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Defense, as well as several other high-ranking government officials. Each president determines how active a role the National Security Council and the National Security Advisor will play in his administration.

Stephen Hadley has a great track record as a strong public servant, having served as Deputy National Security Advisor under Condoleezza Rice who moved on to become Secretary of State. Before becoming a public servant, Mr. Hadley served in a Washington law firm and with an international consulting agency. Mr. Hadley received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.

And let us not trust to human effort alone, but humbly acknowledge the power and goodness of Almighty God who presides over the destiny of nation, and who has at all times been revealed in our country’s history, let us invoke His aid and His blessings upon our labors…I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men.
Grover Cleveland, Inaugural Address, March 6, 1885

President Bush attended Easter worship with members of his family at the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, MD last weekend. Pray for the spiritual life of President and Mrs. Bush and members of their family. Photo courtesy of the White House.

Americans remain a prayerful people today. I know this firsthand. I can't tell you the number of times out there traveling our country, people walk up, total strangers, and say, Mr. President, I'm praying for you and your family. It is one of the great blessings of the presidency, and one of the most wonderful gifts a person can give any of us who have the responsibility to govern justly. So I thank my fellow citizens for their gracious prayers and wonderful gifts.

Every day, millions of Americans pray for the safety of our troops, for the protection of innocent life, and for the peace we all hope for. Americans continue to pray for the recovery of the wounded, and to pray for the Almighty's comfort on those who have lost a loved one. We give thanks daily for the brave and decent men and women who wear our nation's uniform, and we thank their families, as well.
--George W. Bush

Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer.
--D.L. Moody

Alvin Vander Griend is a really neat man who knows a lot about prayer. He teaches classes to people to help them get better and better at praying. He’s also a member of the PPT Honorary Committee. Photo courtesy of College of Prayer.

"Not only does sin hinder prayer; prayer hinders sin. The two are always opposed. The more careless we are about sin, the less we will pray. The more we pray, the less careless we will be about sin. Both sin and prayer are powerful forces. Which one is moving you?"
-- Dr. Alvin Vander Griend, National Facilitator of Lighthouse Ministries for The Mission America Coalition

PPT Kid’s prayers work together to help President Bush. Photo courtesy of the White House.

As a kid who prays, you know how important prayer is, right? It is the greatest privilege we children of God have--talking to Him and telling Him how wonderful He is and asking for His help with things. We do all that and more when we pray.

As a kid who prays for the president, you also understand that your prayers are history-making prayers because they move God’s hand, and He helps the president and our country. Your prayers have helped America’s efforts in Iraq, they have helped keep our military troops safe, and they have helped the president make good decisions. Thank you for being faithful in prayer!

In a way, your prayers are even more effective because you join them with all the other kids who are members of The Presidential Prayer Team for Kids. Your prayers, combined with the prayers of others (for the same request) are really powerful! Because we are all part of the same team, our prayers join together to show God how sincere we are about the things we are praying for.

The National Day of Prayer is like that--by getting the whole country together to pray on one day, we are showing God how very much we want Him to hear our prayers and answer them. It’s like asking the whole country to become a prayer team for the day!

Did you know that when you are faithful in prayer, it triggers God’s faithfulness in answering. It really does! Hover here to read a Bible verse that tells about this.

Portrait of George Washington courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

Since the earliest days of our country, there have been national days of prayer. George Washington was the first person to call for a day when everyone would stop all the other things they were doing and come together in prayer. But Washington didn’t want the Colonists to simply pray--he also asked for them to humble themselves and to fast (do without food) and to confess all their wrongdoings. Washington believed that God would look upon the Colonists and see the sincerity of their hearts and would help them with their cause.

Hover HERE to read George Washington’s orders for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer

When George Washington asked everyone to humble themselves before God and pray for our nation, he was echoing some great words from Scripture. Do you know where to find them? Hover here to read.

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

Just a few years later, the Constitutional Convention was struggling to decide on the laws that would shape our government--especially how both large states and smaller states could be fairly represented. There were so many different ideas, they could not agree on what to do. The delegates were arguing and getting very discouraged--some had even left the meeting. Just when it looked as though they might fail in their efforts, Benjamin Franklin stood up and spoke to them all. At age 80, he was very respected by the other members. He reminded them how often they called on God for help during the Revolution. He said that they must remember God and keep Him right in the center of their efforts or it would all be for nothing. He called for prayers, and from then on, the Constitutional Convention had prayer during their sessions, starting the very next day. God helped them to create one of the most amazing governmental documents ever--the United States Constitution.

To read Ben Franklin’s words as recorded by James Madison, hover HERE.

When Ben Franklin mentions the “Sacred Writings” he is talking about our Bible! Do you know where to find the Scripture verse he mentions? Hover here to read.

Portrait of Abraham Lincoln courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

Abraham Lincoln was another president who believed that God would truly hear and answer our prayers if we got together as a country and asked for His help. When he was president, the nation was really in bad shape. We were divided over the issue of slavery and some thought that we would never be united again. Lincoln knew that God would help America if her people were willing to cry out to Him in prayer. So Lincoln did as many other presidents had done and issued a presidential proclamation asking everyone to pray!

To read part of Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential Proclamation for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, issued March 20, 1863, hover HERE.

If we fast forward to the 20th century, we learn that President Harry S. Truman issued the first formal proclamation for a National Day of Prayer after Congress officially asked him to do so. In 1988 the date was formally set for the first Thursday in May, as it has been observed ever since.

Read the 2005 Official Proclamation HERE.

If you never thought about observing the National Day of Prayer before, this is a great time to start! You can get some kids together at your school, or at your church. Or you may just want to invite some of the kids in your neighborhood over for a time of prayer for our country.

Here are some kid-friendly ideas to observe this big, important day. You can start these things right away!

Decorate bikes with red, white and blue and ride around your neighborhood reminding people to pray for the country.
Decorate the windows of your home with red, white and blue and put a sign on your front door that says, “We’re celebrating the National Day of Prayer.” Be ready to tell anyone who asks how you are going to observe the day.
Get the names of the local officials of your town or city so you can pray for them.
Pray the news! Look through the newspaper with your mom or dad’s help and pray for the different needs you see there, especially where government officials are involved.
Make a special prayer calendar using a blank calendar page (you can find one in most computer programs, or, just make one up by yourself).
Invent some of your own prayer reminders and give them to your friends at church, school or in your neighborhood. A prayer reminder is anything that helps you remember to pray whenever you see it. Here are some ideas:
  • Create stickers on your computer.
  • Paint a rock with a flag or some other patriotic theme.
  • Draw or paint a picture of the president for your bulletin board or wall.
  • Get red, white and blue shoelaces and pray whenever you look down!
  • Help your mom decorate your table with a patriotic theme.
  • Make a Day of Prayer placemat and laminate it. Use all year ‘round!

QUESTION 1

The National Day of Prayer is a brand new thing that everyone is getting excited about for the first time ever.

  1. True
  2. False

QUESTION 2

It’s good to pray for our nation. But if we can add other sacrifices to our prayers, it is even better.

  1. True
  2. False

QUESTION 3

Benjamin Franklin made many contributions to the Continental Congress, but perhaps none were as important as this…. (choose one)

  1. Ben Franklin told the Continental Congress that they needed to stop arguing and just take time to listen to each other.
  2. Ben Franklin asked everyone to stop while he led them in prayer for the nation.
  3. Ben Franklin reminded the members of the Continental Congress that they could rely on God to help them if they would only reach out to Him in prayer.

Bible Verse of the week

Then the Levitical priests stood and blessed the people, and God heard them from his holy dwelling in heaven.
—II Chronicles 30:27

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me--that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, He was seen by more than five hundred of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, I saw Him, too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time.
—I Corinthians 15:3-8

Many of you told us how much it encourages you to know that our President and other leaders believe in the power of prayer, just like you do! That’s awesome. Photo courtesy of the White House.

Since America's founding, prayer has reassured us that the hand of God is guiding the affairs of this nation. We have never asserted a special claim on His favor, yet we've always believed in God's presence in our lives. This has always been true. But it has never been more true since September the 11th. Prayer has comforted people in grief. Prayer has served as a unifying factor in our nation. Prayer gives us strength for the journey ahead. Millions of Americans have turned to prayer during these times, and have been reminded of an important truth--while weeping may endure for a night, joy comes in the morning. The American character is incredibly strong and confident.

Yet prayer reminds us that a great people must be humble before God, searching for wisdom--constantly searching for wisdom--from the Almighty.
--George W. Bush

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