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 President’s Day? Ready to pray and ready to learn?
  • Learn about George Washington’s habit of prayer.
  • A great poem for kids who pray on President’s Day!

Things to pray for
President Bush offered his congratulations to the members of the University of Texas Longhorns for winning the NCAA Division I championship by inviting them to the White House this week. Members of the team presented him with his own jersey and posed for photos. Here President Bush and Coach Mack Brown are making the “Hook ‘em ‘Horns” sign. Photo courtesy of the White House.

  1. Do you know what CENTCOM is? CENTCOM stands for “Central Command” and it is the headquarters for U.S. security—military operations—in 25 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Arabian Gulf region, into Central Asia. The people at CENTCOM help keep peace in the world by working together with all the coalition partners and by making plans for our military operation in their region. They also work on many humanitarian missions, bringing relief in ways and places that other organizations can’t. President Bush is visiting CENTCOM on Friday, February 17, so it’s a great time to pray for his visit as he gets updated on the war on terrorism and our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq and on other fronts. We can also pray for him as he gives a speech on the progress we’ve made on the war on terror. In fact, it’s great to pray for CENTCOM all the time because of the important role they have in our military operations in many nations. Pray also for Gen. John Abizaid, commander of CENTCOM.
  2. President’s Day is this Monday! It’s a great time to honor Presidents Washington and Lincoln, and it is also a great time to remember to follow their great example and pray! Everyone can honor our country and our God by praying for all our leaders, including President Bush, Vice President Cheney and all the other people who do such a great job running our country. Be sure to tell others about this wonderful time to pray and sign up for a time slot too!
  3. Have you heard about a man named Harry Whittington? He is a friend of Vice President Cheney’s and he was hurt in a hunting accident last weekend. While this is a pretty sad thing, it is also a great opportunity for us to pray for Mr. Whittington to get better—completely better—very soon. We know that God is our Great Healer! Also, it’s a good time to pray for Vice President Cheney, because we know that anyone would feel very sad about causing a friend pain in this way. So we can pray that God will bring the very best out of this situation, as only He can!
  4. Our troops are serving America and the world faithfully, every single day, experiencing all kinds of challenges and difficulties. They do this willingly and well, so we can pray for our troops as they help to strengthen democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, asking God to cover each one with His powerful protection and care. We can also pray for their families and loved ones who really miss them while they serve.


Leaders to pray for

Director of National Intelligence--John Negroponte
Photo courtesy of the White House.

Did you know that our country has 17 different intelligence agencies? “Intelligence” is information that is gathered about an enemy or an enemy’s efforts to bring harm.

President Bush created the position of Director of National Intelligence as a way of getting all the different intelligence-gathering agencies in our country working together. Ambassador John Negroponte works with them all, helping them share information so that our country can be safe. Ambassador Negroponte also briefs the President every morning on any threats to America’s security that are revealed by our intelligence efforts. He sets the budget for each of the intelligence agencies as they do their work every year.

How many of our country’s 17 intelligence agencies can you name? Hover here for full list.

Ambassador Negroponte was born in London, England and is a graduate of Yale University. He is married to Diana, and they have five children.


Director of the Secret Service--Ralph Basham
Photo courtesy of the White House.

The Secret Service was founded in 1865, and its original purpose was to stop people from making counterfeit currency. That’s why, until just recently, they were part of the Department of the Treasury.

Over time, the responsibilities of the Secret Service expanded to include fighting against people who were working to undermine our government and protecting the president. When President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Congress officially gave to the Secret Service the job of protecting the president, and today that is what the Secret Service is best known for. They also investigate people involved in fraud and credit card misuse, and they protect dignitaries from other countries when the pay a visit to the U.S along with coordinating security at major events such as the Super Bowl and Olympics. That’s a big job, as you can see, so Director Basham and his team really need God’s wisdom and help to carry out their work!

In March 2003, the Secret Service moved from Treasury to Homeland Security in the post-9/11 reorganization of major departments of the Executive Branch.

Mr. Ralph Basham was sworn in as the 21st Director of the United States Secret Service on January 27, 2003. He’s a great person to lead this work because he is a 28-year veteran of the Secret Service, starting out in 1970 when he was appointed as a Special Agent in the Washington Field Office.

In January 2002, Mr. Basham was named Chief of Staff for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Among his responsibilities at TSA, Mr. Basham oversaw the hiring of federal security directors for the nation's 429 airports.

Ralph Basham is a native of Owensboro, Kentucky. He received a Bachelor's Degree from Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. Married to the former Judith O'Bryan, the couple has three children.


Bible Verses of the week

A great promise for you, right from the heart of God:

"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

By now, we hope you know all about the Online Prayer Rally coming up this Monday, February 20—that's President's Day! The Presidential Prayer Team and The Presidential Prayer Team for Kids have been working hard to get as many people as possible praying for our President and our nation. Nearly 20,000 people have signed up to pray. Isn't that a great way to observe President's Day?

So check with your mom or dad to be sure it's okay with them for you to participate, and then sign up for the Online Prayer Rally HERE today! Don't miss out on the fun—it's an awesome thing to pray. You can also talk to your pastor, your youth leader, your kids club leader, and anyone else you know who will pray. Invite them to join the effort and then remember to pray on President's Day, Monday February 21!

If you need some ideas about how to pray or you want to know exactly who to pray for, check out our great group of Prayer Resources! We’ve got everything from songs to Scriptures, and they are all free! Get started HERE.

The Godly Faith of Presidents Washington & Lincoln

Now that President's Day is right around the corner, we want to take a look at both Presidents Washington and Lincoln so we can really appreciate the great things about them--including their faith in God.

You have probably learned in school about the fantastic things each of these men did to help our country. Here are some things they had in common:

Each of them knew what it meant to order their soldiers into battle.
 
Each of them had the awesome responsibility of leading people through a very difficult time, without any assurance that things would come out really well.

Both men struggled a lot with all the challenges and problems of leading during a time of war and strife. But their causes did succeed, and they did have an incredible outcome that made all the difficulty and hard times worth the trouble.

Presidents Washington and Lincoln are two of the four presidents whose faces are carved on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

Since you are a member of The Presidential Prayer Team for Kids, we want to be sure that you know more than just the great accomplishments of these famous men. It is true that they should be honored for their brave leadership of our country during a time of great trial and strife, but both these men were also great men of faith, and their faith in God guided them every day--through hard decisions, through times of fear and doubt, through all kinds of things. But both men kept their faith strong and trusted in God to help them and guide them.

Here are a few more things George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have in common:

Both believed in the power of prayer.
 
Both relied on God to help them.
 
Both turned to God when things looked really bad.
 
Both believed that the Bible was God's Word, and therefore was the best place to find help and wisdom from God.
 

Here are some examples:

As Commander of the Continental Army, George Washington wrote out the things that he wanted taken care of every day. In this letter, General Washington is communicating about pay for some of his officers; he is giving an order for supplies to be sent to the Quartermaster General, and then he makes this proclamation:

This painting shows George Washington as a noble and confident head of state. Image courtesy of the White House.

GENERAL ORDERS Head Quarters, Cambridge, November 18, 1775.

The Honorable Legislature of this Colony having thought fit to set apart Thursday the 23d of November Instant, as a day of public thanksgiving to offer up our praises, and prayers to Almighty God, the Source and Benevolent Bestower of all good; That He would be pleased graciously to continue, to smile upon our Endeavours, to restore peace, preserve our Rights, and Privileges, to the latest posterity; prosper the American Arms, preserve and strengthen the Harmony of the United Colonies, and avert the Calamities of a civil war. The General therefore commands that day to be observed with all the Solemnity directed by the Legislative Proclamation, and all Officers, Soldiers and others, are hereby directed, with the most unfeigned Devotion, to obey the same.

Even though his language is different from the way you are used to talking, if you look carefully, you can see how very much George Washington relied on God. He knew that God could help him and his army succeed.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SPECIAL,
FANCY LANGUAGE

QUESTION 1

When George Washington used terms like, "Benevolent Bestower of all good" what do you think he was talking about?

  1. He was talking about Santa Claus, because it was almost Christmas.
  2. He was talking about the Quartermaster General, the man responsible for getting all the goods and supplies to General Washington's troops.
  3. He was talking about God, who gives all good things to those who honor and love Him.

When George Washington called God the "Benevolent Bestower of all good," he is saying that God is our marvelous, generous provider. Can you think of a Scripture verse that talks about how God loves to give us good things?
Hover here to read.

QUESTION 2

George Washington was known as a man of prayer.
Image courtesy of christiananswers.net.

GEROGE WASHINGTON'S PRAYER LIST

You can see how much George Washington relied on prayer when you read the rest of his general orders for the day. Remember that General Washington is calling for a day of prayer to seek God's powerful help with some of the problems he is facing at this crucial time in the Revolution. He knows that God's help will come straight from heaven! Here is a list of things. Click to show which ones you believe are included in Washington's call to pray as written above.

    He asked for God's blessing.
  • True
  • False

    He wanted people to pray that God will give them peace and keep them safe so that they and their children and their children's children don't lose their freedom.
  • True
  • False

    He wants prayers for his army to succeed, and for the colonies to be united in their ideas about freedom and separation from Britain.
  • True
  • False

    George wants to see his country face a civil war, just like Abraham Lincoln did.
  • True
  • False

Abraham Lincoln

President Abraham Lincoln is shown in this portrait with a
very thoughtful expression—or is it a prayerful expression?
Portrait courtesy of the White House.

LINCOLN'S THOUGHTS ON GOD'S WILL

Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln loved to read. Even when he was a little boy, he would read everything he could get his hands on. Later in life, he claimed that he would take as his best friend the person who would give him a book he had never read. Above all, Lincoln believed that the Bible was the greatest book ever and he knew it well.

That's why, many scholars believe, Lincoln drew nearer and nearer to God the harder things got in America. People spoke often with him about the Civil War, and he, in turn, had comments of his own regarding the great conflict. He talked about God's will, pondering how both sides in the Civil War could claim that God was on their side! These words are from one of the darkest moments of the Civil War, when during September of 1862 after losing the Second Battle of Bull Run, he wrote something called his Meditation on the Divine Will:

The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God can not be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party—and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose.

I am almost ready to say this is probably true—that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.
--Abraham Lincoln

QUESTION 3

Read the first paragraph of Abraham Lincoln's quote again and think about what he says. Which statement below do you think is most accurate?

  1. Abraham Lincoln felt that the Civil War wasn't God's will at all.
  2. Abraham Lincoln felt that the people who claimed that their side was God's side were the ones who were doing God's will.
  3. Abraham Lincoln believed that even though the Civil War was a very bad time in our country, God worked His purposes in it, which is what He always does.

God understands so much more than we do! Sometimes that's really hard to accept—or understand, but it is always good! Can you think of a Scripture verse that talks about this?
Hover here to read:

QUESTION 4

Read the second paragraph of Abraham Lincoln's quote again.

True or False Lincoln believed that God could have solved the problems that caused the Civil War without a single life being lost.

  1. True
  2. False

QUESTION 5

True or False Abraham Lincoln seems to feel that God will end the Civil War any moment.

  1. True
  2. False

For President’s Day

Our God is pleased when on our knees
we lift our President
and intercede for him who leads
our nation’s government.

It’s good to pray and humbly say
how grateful we all are
because this man who guides our land
has learned from failure’s scars.

Perhaps George knows that like a rose
God finds prayer’s fragrance sweet.
At any rate, he thinks it’s great
we pray for him each week.

by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos

President’s Day is the day we honor Presidents Washington and Lincoln, and we hope you will honor them—by thinking about their reliance on prayer, and by doing just what they each did when things got tough—by praying!

We want to encourage you to pray with thousands of others in PPT’s Online Prayer Rally, and we think you’ll really like the resources we’ve created to help you.

As you pray, remember how Presidents Washington and Lincoln each put his trust soundly in God, in good times and in tough times. Remember that you can trust God with anything—anything! And He loves it when you pray. So be sure to pray for our country and our president this week—it’s a great way to celebrate President’s Day!

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