As the son of a preacher, faith has always been at the center of my life. This week, along with numerous of my U.S. House & Senate colleagues, I attended the National Prayer Breakfast. A tradition dating back over 60 years, the National Prayer Breakfast serves as an opportunity for elected officials and religious leaders to come together and talk about the role faith, religion, and God has in all of our lives.
As the son of a preacher, faith has always been at the center of my life. This week, along with numerous of my U.S. House & Senate colleagues, I attended the National Prayer Breakfast. A tradition dating back over 60 years, the National Prayer Breakfast serves as an opportunity for elected officials and religious leaders to come together and talk about the role faith, religion, and God has in all of our lives.
Several of the messages this year focused on perseverance, overcoming the difficult obstacles life puts in front of you, and the still obtainable dream which makes America unique – starting from the bottom, working hard, and rising to the top.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan focused on the power that prayer can have in all of our lives, whether praying or being prayed for. Specifically speaking about those difficult times, Speaker Ryan noted how powerful prayer can be:
“How am I going to get through this? Why is this happening to me? God, why have you forsaken me?...there is nothing more comforting or more humbling, really, than to hear someone say, ‘I’m praying for you.’ Because when you hear that, you realize you’re not alone. God is there and hundreds, if not thousands, if not millions, of people are all speaking to him on your behalf…they’re praying for you, the person”.
I think about my life, the challenges my parents faced raising a family when resources were scarce, and the nights they and I spent in prayer. I think about the thousands of families just like that in south central and southeast Missouri, and I pray for them. I think about the millions of Christians facing religious persecution around the world for simply practicing their faith, those facing exile, torture or worse for worshiping the same God as many of us - I pray for them.
Two of the guest speakers, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, producers of the miniseries “The Bible”, focused on how their faith, their prayer helped them overcome a difficult start to their lives in America. From serving as a nanny for $125 a week to checking coats at a restaurant to make ends meet, both talked about how God guided them to not focus on the negativity in their life, but on their ultimate goal of producing entertainment that brings families together. When we think about all the struggles in our lives that at times can consume us, Downey commented, “…it is far more effective to light a candle than to curse the darkness”. That remark can remind us all of the powerful tools of prayer, faith and love in a world that can at times seem dark.
Burnett, now the president of MGM Television talked about how his top floor office in Beverly Hills now overlooks the very same house, where as a 20 year old, ex-military solider, he served as that nanny making $125 a week. For Burnett, without prayer, faith, and the presence of God, the journey would have never been possible.
Between the farm, work, school, family, friends and bills, there is more than enough to fill a full day. However, without the focus of faith the days we spend focusing on our own needs turn into weeks, the weeks into months, and months into years. Faith is what allows us to stop the cycle of selfishness and put God and others at the center. Pray for your family and friends, pray for your neighbors, pray for our country, and pray for those facing challenges in their lives all over the world. I will continue to pray for you.
