President Obama speaks at National Prayer Breakfast (video)

President Obama speaks at National Prayer Breakfast (video)

President Obama combined politics with prayer earlier today as he and Michelle Obama attended the National Prayer Breakfast. The National Prayer Breakfast is held each year on the first Thursday of February and is joined by members of Congress. The first Prayer Breakfast was held in 1953, and for more than twenty years, it has been held at the Washington Hilton. The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian group, organizes it. Though some groups organized protests and requested that President Obama not attend the National Prayer Breakfast, he did and shared how his faith has helped him lead the nation.

The Breakfast is attended by foreign diplomats as well as members of Congress as well as a wide conglomerate of religious and faith based leaders. President Obama spoke to the assembly that had gathered together and said, “I'm also here for the same reason that all of you are, for we all share a recognition -- one as old as time -- that a willingness to believe, an openness to grace, a commitment to prayer can bring sustenance to our lives. 

President Obama also discussed he victims of the Haiti earthquake and mentioned God’s grace and mercy.

“Last month, God's grace, God's mercy, seemed far away from our neighbors in Haiti. And yet I believe that grace was not absent in the midst of tragedy. It was heard in prayers and hymns that broke the silence of an earthquake's wake. It was witnessed among parishioners of churches that stood no more, a roadside congregation, holding bibles in their laps. It was felt in the presence of relief workers and medics; translators; servicemen and women, bringing water and food and aid to the injured.”

The President also spoke about bridging divisions and returning to civility.

“Empowered by faith, consistently, prayerfully, we need to find our way back to civility. That begins with stepping out of our comfort zones in an effort to bridge divisions. We see that in many conservative pastors who are helping lead the way to fix our broken immigration system. It's not what would be expected from them, and yet they recognize, in those immigrant families, the face of God.

We see that in the evangelical leaders who are rallying their congregations to protect our planet. We see it in the increasing recognition among progressives that government can't solve all of our problems, and that talking about values like responsible fatherhood and healthy marriage are integral to any anti-poverty agenda. Stretching out of our dogmas, our prescribed roles along the political spectrum that can help us regain a sense of civility.”

You may see the full video of the President’s National Prayer Breakfast speech in the video below.

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President Obama speaks at National Prayer Breakfast (video)