In his last National Prayer Breakfast speech while in office, President
Obama gave an introspective talk about how his faith overcomes his
fears.
“For me, and I know for so many of you, faith is the great cure for
fear,” Obama said at the Washington Hilton event Thursday (Feb. 4).
“Jesus is a good cure for fear.”
Obama’s speech to several thousand mostly evangelical listeners came a
day after he spoke at a Baltimore mosque and gave a history lesson on
Muslim Americans’ contributions to the country.
The National Prayer Breakfast, held for the 64th time, is chaired each
year by members of Congress who meet weekly for prayer when Congress is
in session. It draws politicians, diplomats and prominent evangelical
Christian leaders.
Speaking slowly at times as he talked about how he is comforted by
Scripture and the faith of others, Obama said he has lately focused on a
Bible verse from 2 Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
He said now is the best period to have that scriptural assurance.
“What better time in these changing and tumultuous times to have Jesus
standing beside us, steadying our minds, cleansing our hearts, pointing
us towards what matters,” he said.
Hollywood power couple Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, the other keynote
speakers at the breakfast, joined the president in urging that Americans
bridge the divides that separate them.
“We pray that with God’s help our world can heal some of the hurts that
wound us and the confusion that divides us, but it begins with us,”
said Downey, whose husband kept his hand on her shoulder as they spoke
as the first husband-and-wife team to ever address the breakfast.
“Perhaps a good place to start is to simply see the image of God in the eyes of everyone you meet.”
Obama gave credit to congregations of a variety of faiths for coming to the aid of others across the country and the globe.
Christians, Sikhs and others helped after an earthquake rocked Haiti,
he said, and Jews, Christians and Muslims strove to save West Africans
from Ebola. He credited people of faith for how they welcomed Syrian
refugees to the U.S. with food and blankets and worked to “wrap a
shattered community in love” after nine worshippers at Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., were killed.
Obama said he joins the continuing prayers for Christians and other
people of faith around the world who are persecuted for their beliefs,
and he expressed gratitude for the safe return of Iranian-American
pastor Saeed Abedini, who was released in January from Iran after being
imprisoned since 2012.
After acknowledging his prayers to be forgiven for his own failings,
Obama closed his remarks with his prayers for the country and the
future.
“I pray that we will see every single child as our own, each worthy of
our love and of our compassion,” he said. “And I pray we answer
Scripture’s call to lift up the vulnerable, and to stand up for justice,
and ensure that every human being lives in dignity.”
Adelle M. Banks is production editor and a national reporter for RNS
Courtesy: Religion News Service
Publication date: February 5, 2016
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