"Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons,
repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act, my fervent supplications
to that Almighty Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the council of nations, and whose providential aids can
supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United
States.." "...Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished
by some token of providential agency" ...From President George
Washington's Inaugural Address, April 30th, 1789, addressed to both Houses of Congress.
The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder
of this event was Abraham Vereide.[1] The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has
taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue NW.
The National Prayer Breakfast, held in the Hilton's International Ballroom, is typically attended by some 3,500 guests,
including international invitees from over 100 countries. It is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized
on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian organization. Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast,
the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast.
It is designed to be a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and build relationships. Since
the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their
own annual prayer breakfast events.
Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event.
President Trump speaks at National Prayer Breakfast 2019
President Trump speaks at National Prayer Breakfast 2018
President Trump speaks at National Prayer Breakfast 2017
"The general principles on which the Fathers
achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity." - John Adams, Second President of the United Strates
Probably the clearest identification of the
spirit of the American Revolution was given by John Adams in a letter to his wife, Abigail, the day after Congress approved
the Declaration. He wrote her two letters that day: One was short and jubilant that the Declaration had been approved; the
other letter was much longer and gave serious consideration to what had been done that day. Adams could already foresee that
their actions would be celebrated by future generations.
Adams also noted: "This day will be the most
memorable epic in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the
great anniversary festival." He felt the celebration should be in a manner that would commemorate the day as a "day of deliverance
by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." John Adams believed that the Fourth of July should be a religious holiday. The
two top holidays celebrated in this country are Christmas and the Fourth of July. According to John Quincy Adams, the two
dates are connected. On the Fourth of July, the Founding Fathers simply took the precepts of Christ and His birth (Christmas)
and incorporated those principles into civil government.
We have staked the whole of all our political institutions
upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control
ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.' - James
Madison
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern
your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?
— I Kings 3:9
