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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  • Can remembering help you believe?
  • President Lincoln remembers soldiers who gave their lives.
  • President Bush’s words on remembering and praying for peace on Memorial Day.

Things to pray for
President Bush posed with these fortunate kids when he visited Pottstown, PA earlier this week. Would you like to meet the President? Image courtesy of the White House.

  1. One of America’s best friends is in Washington this week to meet with President Bush, so it is a really good time to pray for the President as he meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to talk about how our countries can work together to support the new government in Iraq and work together to bring peace in troubled places like Iran and Darfur. We should also give thanks to God for the great friendship between our nations. President Bush will also be meeting with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda at the White House on May 31, so we can pray for them as they discuss the relationship between our two countries and the fight against HIV/AIDS.
  2. Something really important happened in Iraq last week—the new unity government there was sworn in and began to govern the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. So it is an important time to pray for the new leaders of the young government and for all the work they have ahead of them as they seek to establish a peaceful nation that serves its citizens well.
  3. Lots of people are having graduations and commencements this week! It’s an exciting time for the graduates and their families. President Bush will be speaking to the graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, so it’s a great time to pray for him as he speaks to these graduates and to pray for all the graduates, both at West Point and at all the universities and schools across the nation that they will walk confidently into a bright future and will serve God and others wisely and well.
  4. This weekend is Memorial Day! It’s the special time when our country pauses to observe not only the sacrifices of those who lost their lives in military service, but also to pray for peace! President Bush is asking everyone to stop and pray together at 11:00 am your local time on Monday, Memorial Day. Isn’t that a great idea? So be sure to talk to your mom or dad and take time to pray on Monday. Pray also for our troops who appreciate so much our support through prayer! Ask God to keep each one safe, to hold them close to His heart and to help them to do their jobs well. Thank God for their sacrifices too, because their service safeguards our freedom!

Leaders to pray for

Since it’s Memorial Day, it’s a great time to pray for the military leaders of our country. Each of these men has very large responsibilities as the head of a major part of our military. They need our prayers as they work on our behalf every day.

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for He speaks peace to His people, His faithful ones.
—Psalm 85:8

We all have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away.
—Proverbs 10:7


Memorial Day is a really neat holiday, because it is a time that our country has especially set aside to do two really important things--to remember and to pray.



Every sunset is a gift from God, reminding us that He is the source of all beauty! Isn’t it great when you get to share a sunset with someone you love? When you remember those special moments it strengthens your faith in God. Photo courtesy of Stanford University.

Have you ever thought about what a wonderful and awesome thing memory is? Memory is really a terrific blessing from God! Maybe you remember a time that you and your friend giggled until you couldn’t get your breath. Or perhaps you have a special memory of a beautiful sunset that you enjoyed with your family, or a time when you knew that God was very, very near to you--at camp or in church or alone in your room. With God’s wonderful gift of memory, you can relive those fantastic moments in your mind, just by remembering!

In the same way, God allows us the gift of memory so we can stay close to Him by recalling the many ways He has worked in our lives. We remember His goodness and His faithfulness and the many ways He has given us just exactly what we needed, even if we forgot to ask for it.

This illustration shows what it might have looked like when the Children of Israel worked as slaves in Egypt. It was very hard work and the conditions were very bad—and kept getting worse. Yet, after they had escaped, they quickly forgot the kindness of God in sending the plagues, forcing Pharoah to let them go. No wonder God reminds us to “Remember and believe!”

Remembering strengthens our belief, just as it did for the Children of Israel when they were in the wilderness. They were tempted to doubt and to think that God had forgotten them. He had not forgotten them--in fact He was leading them to a new and better life. They nearly missed out on the wonderful Promised Land that God had made for them, because they forgot--they forgot to remember! They forgot how horrible their slavery was. They forgot how hard it was to make bricks without straw. They forgot how sad it was to live in a land that was not their own and that did not honor God. So when you feel tempted to think that God isn’t working in your life or answering your prayers, just remember! Remember all the really great blessings God has given you--and believe!

Can you think of a Bible verse that talks about the importance of remembering? Hover here to read.

In the same way that God wants us to remember the great things He has done for us, our president wants us to remember those who have sacrificed and given their lives for our freedom. That’s what MEMORIAL DAY is all about! It’s a special time when we remember the dedication and service of the members of our military. We stop to thank God and to thank them for the way they gave themselves so that we could continue to enjoy our freedom. By remembering, we get a bigger appreciation of the blessing of freedom.

Memorial Day is also about prayer! That’s right! It’s a day set aside to pray for peace. President Bush has called us to pray for peace in the world and for the safety of our troops—in fact he wants us to stop everything else and pray together at 11:00 am your local time. Even if you pray every day for peace, this is a great time to get others praying with you! So talk to your mom or dad or friends in your church or neighborhood and be sure to pray on Memorial Day.

Do you know a Bible verse that talks about the importance of praying for the people who lead our nation? Hover here to read a great one.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

Defending the ideals of our Nation has required the service and sacrifice of those from every generation. From Valley Forge, across Europe and Asia, and in Afghanistan and Iraq, courageous Americans have given their lives so that others could live in freedom. These Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen took an oath to defend America, and they upheld that oath with bravery and decency. They have liberated the oppressed, spread freedom and peace, and set a standard of courage and compassion for our Nation. All who enjoy the blessings of liberty live in their debt.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 29, 2006, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer. I also ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day.
--George W. Bush

Read the entire text of President Bush’s Memorial Day Proclamation.

President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a large assembled crowd at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, PA. His speech there is considered one of the best and most important ever. This is a picture of a newspaper account of that very special day, November 19, 1863. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Abraham Lincoln was president through some of the most difficult years of our nation. Our country was being torn apart by war and many good Americans were giving their lives in the fight. One especially rough battle took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

On November 19, 1863, a large group of people gathered to dedicate the battlefield and to remember the sacrifices of those who fought there. President Lincoln addressed the crowd with words of gratitude and appreciation for their sacrifices. His speech there was very short. But his words were very sweet. Many say it is one of the finest speeches ever given. In his speech he called on God to help our nation find peace.

The Gettysburg Address is appropriate for Memorial Day because we are so appreciative of the many troops who have risked their safety in Iraq to protect our freedom here at home.

Read President Lincoln’s words and see if you don’t agree.

The Gettysburg Address
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we can not hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

QUESTION 1

Read the last paragraph of President Lincoln’s speech. Which of the following do you think best expresses the thoughts he is trying to convey?

  1. It is a silly waste of time to dedicate a battlefield.
  2. Someone has already consecrated this battlefield, so we have no need to be here today.
  3. We come here to dedicate this place, but there are others--those who sacrificed their lives--who have already dedicated it, and we are here to honor them.

QUESTION 2

True or False: Mr. Lincoln says that the very best way to bring good out of this very sad loss of life is to see to it that America truly comes together to make a nation where all people are equal and have equal freedoms.

  1. True
  2. False

Click here to see a photo of the
battlefield at Gettysburg

Lyndon Baines Johnson was our country’s 36th president, and he became president quite suddenly and unexpectedly following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. At his first National Prayer Breakfast as President, he noted how completely reliant on prayer our leaders have been from the start: The men who have guided the destiny of the United States have found the strength for their tasks by going to their knees…

Portrait courtesy of the White House.

Though Lyndon Johnson was not one to publicly proclaim his faith, it was a strong part of his life, nevertheless. Like President Lincoln before him, President Johnson offered words of inspiration and called the nation to prayer at the famous site of the battlefield at Gettysburg.
We, the living, have not forgotten--and the world will never forget--the deeds or the words of Gettysburg. We honor them now as we join on this Memorial Day of 1963 in a prayer for permanent peace of the world and fulfillment of our hopes for universal freedom and justice. We are called to honor our own words of reverent prayer with resolution in the deeds we must perform to preserve peace and the hope of freedom. We keep a vigil of peace around the world. Until the world knows no aggressors, until the arms of tyranny have been laid down, until freedom has risen up in every land, we shall maintain our vigil to make sure our sons who died on foreign fields shall not have died in vain. As we maintain the vigil of peace, we must remember that justice is a vigil, too--a vigil we must keep in our own streets and schools and among the lives of all our people--so that those who died here on their native soil shall not have died in vain.
--Lyndon B. Johnson, Memorial Day speech at Gettysburg, May 30, 1963

QUESTION 3

True or False: President Johnson said in his Gettysburg message that one of the best ways we can honor the sacrifices of those who have given their lives in battle is to continue to pray for peace.

  1. True
  2. False

Psalm 91 is known as the "Soldier's Psalm." It offers great hope and the promise of security for those who trust in the Lord. This Memorial Day, we encourage you to pray Psalm 91 for those in harm's way. The full text of the psalm follows:

The eagle is our national symbol, in part for its strength and dominance in the sky. It is also a good picture of the steadfast love of God for His people. When you pray Psalm 91 for others—especially our troops—think of the strength and security of the eagle, and remember that God’s strength is so much greater than the eagle's!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge--then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.

For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.

Thank You, Lord, for the men and women of our Armed Forces. Protect them as they protect us. Defend them as they defend us. Encourage and strengthen them in spirit, soul and body in the execution of their duties. Enable them to curtail hostile actions before they start. Give our leaders wisdom and insight in all decisions. Thank you, Lord, for providing America with the best trained, equipped and led military force in the world. Fill them with Your saving grace and the gospel of peace that they may be shining witnesses of Your love. Amen.
--Anonymous

by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos

Come Monday, we will pause to think
about a chain formed link by link
that binds us to the liberties
that God desires for all.

It is a day for looking back
at how the mourners' dreaded black
maintains the colors that we love...
the red, the white and blue.

In cemeteries far and near
small flags at grave sites make it clear
that freedom's price was freely paid
by those who spent their lives.

And so on this Memorial Day
we place a wreath and humbly pray
that these who died courageously
will not have died in vain.

Memorial Day is a great holiday! We hope you’ll do a lot more than just enjoy a day off of school. We hope you will use the wonderful gift of memory to think about how richly God has blessed our nation. We hope you’ll be so overwhelmed with gratitude to Him that you won’t be able to stop thanking Him all day long. And we especially hope that gratitude will cause you to pray for peace as President Bush and many presidents before him have asked us to do. God hears and answers kids’ prayers with the same joy and urgency that he hears and answers anyone’s prayers, so be sure to pray, and watch for His answers! And happy Memorial Day!

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