FW: President Bush and Prayer

-----Original Message-----
From: Richoux, Fred
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 8:49 AM
To: Beane, Jan; Gardner, Tom; Heard, Anne; Ramirez, Guale; Rochelle, Betty; Wagner, Bob
Subject: FW: President Bush and Prayer

-----Original Message-----
From: Ridley, Joe [mailto:JRidley@carterbloodcare.org]
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 7:29 AM
To: Newlin, Lauri; Parsley, Amy; Grivich, Terrie; 'Fred Richoux'; 'Garrett Whitney'; 'I.E.'; 'Robert Whitfield -- home'
Subject: FW: President Bush and Prayer
< < "First of all, then, I urge that supplications,
< < prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for
< < all men, for kings and all who are in high
< < positions..." 1 Tim. 2:1
< <
< <
< <
< < President Bush our leader
< <
< < This was the same man who came within a hair's breadth of losing an
< < election in November, who withstood the political chicanery of the
< < Florida Democratic machine to fix the vote count.
< <
< < This was the same man who admitted to having a drinking problem in
< < younger years, and whose happy-go-lucky lifestyle led him to
mediocre
< < grades in college and an ill-fated oil venture.
< <
< < This was the same man who mangled syntax even more than his father,
< < and whose speaking missteps became known as "Bushisms."
< <
< < And on Friday, this was the man who bore the weight of the world and
< < the responsibilities of a generation with dignity, class,
confidence,
< < appropriate solemnity, and even much-needed wit.
< <
< < One thing struck me during the campaign, that difficult,
< < roller-coaster campaign that now seems years ago. It was that George
< < W. Bush never seemed to get ruffled. Whether the theft of a campaign
< < debate video or the sudden (some would say, vicious) release of a
DUI
< < arrest two decades ago at a key moment, "W" did not lose his cool.
At
< < times, his staff seemed overconfident, as did many of us. A
< < 350-electoral-vote win, they quietly implied . . . and we
< < optimistically believed. Then they counted the votes, miscounted
< < others, and re-counted still others. At the end, he was still there.
< < Whereas Al Gore almost frantically huffed and puffed, trying to gin
< < up something out of nothing, Bush quietly but confidently waited at
< < his ranch. He didn't do nothing: that is the mistake people have
< < constantly made with this man, confusing lack of
< < bluster for absence of action.
< <
< < No, his team of attorneys and the iron-willed James Baker were
< < carrying out his orders, but W stayed in the background, confident
< < and faithful. You see, it is this faith business that confounded
< < everyone. We have had such actors and liars in public office that we
< < have looked skeptically whenever anyone used the term faith. But
this
< < was the same man who was the first politician ever in recent memory
< < to name Jesus Christ as the lord of his life on public TV. Not an
< < oblique reference to being "born-again" or having a "life change."
He
< < said the un-PC-like phrase, "Jesus Christ," to which his handlers
and
< < advisors, no doubt, off stage, were also saying, "Jesus Christ" in a
< < much different tone.
< <
< < God has a way of honoring those who honor Him. David learned that
< < while he was on the run from Saul's armies. Job learned that after
< < his time of horrible tribulation. The Messiah said so Himself, many
< < times.
< <
< < So this was the man who actually put faith into practice. He
actually
< < loves those who hate him. It is a staggering concept, so foreign in
< < daily occurrence that few thought it anything but grandstanding.
Even
< < one of W's biggest supporters chided the President for adhering to
< < his "new tone." Yet there he was, again and again, thanking the
< < Democrats. Appointing his enemies to high places in his government.
< < Inviting his former foes and their wives to private movie
< < screenings, and (I know, this is hard to stomach) even treating them
< < with dignity. See, this was the man who learned early on how faith
< < worked: by praying for his enemies, you "heap burning coals upon
their
< < heads."
< <
< < This was the man who named the absolute top people in national
< < security and defense, then caught barbs from the politically
< < righteous that this one didn't have the right views on abortion or
< < that one didn't have the right position on guns.
< <
< < And on September 11, at mid-morning, this was the man thrust into a
< < position only known by Roosevelt, Churchill, Lincoln, and
Washington.
< < The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and the responsibility
< < of a generation was on his soul. So this same man---the one that the
< < media repeatedly attempted to tarnish with charges of
"illegitimacy,"
< < and the one whose political opponents desperately sought to
stonewall
< < until mid-term elections---walked to his seat at the front of the
< < National Cathedral just three days after the two most impressive
< < symbols of American capitalism and prosperity virtually evaporated,
< < along with, perhaps, thousands of Americans.
< <
< < As he sat down next to his wife, immediately I knew that even if his
< < faith ever faltered, hers didn't. I have never seen a more peaceful
< < face than Laura Bush, whose eyes seemed as though they were already
< < gazing at the final outcome . . . not just of this conflict, but of
< < her reward in Heaven itself. In this marriage, you indeed got two
for
< < the price of one.
< <
< < Then came the defining moment of our generation. Some people fondly
< < recall their Woodstock days. Others mark with grim sadness November
< < 22, 1963, as the day America lost her innocence. But I firmly
believe
< < when the history of this time is written, it will be acknowledged by
< < friend and foe alike that President George W. Bush came of age in
< < that cathedral and lifted a nation off its knees. It wasn't so much
< < his words, though read a decade later, they will indeed be as
< < stirring as any. This conflict would end, he noted, ". . . at a time
< < of our choosing." It certainly wasn't his emotion. What had to have
< < been one of the most stunning exhibitions of self-control in
< < presidential history, W was able to deliver his remarks without
< < losing either his resolve or his focus, or, more important, his
< < confidence. It was as if God's hand, which had guided him through
< < that sliver-thin election, now rested fully on him.
< <
< < His quiet confidence let our enemies know . . . and believe me, they
< < know. . . that they made a grave miscalculation. Now, this same man
< < who practiced his faith through a tough election, who steeled his
< < convictions even more in a drawn-out Florida battle, and who never
< < once gave in to the temptation to get in the gutter with his foes
< < (well, ok, maybe the "Clymer" comment is an exception), this same
man
< < now lifted the weight of the world and the responsibility of a
< < generation and put it on his modest shoulders as though it were
< < another unpleasant duty.
< <
< < As he walked back to his seat, the camera angle was appropriate. He
< < was virtually alone in the scene, alone in that massive place of
< < God, just him and the Lord. But that's the way it's always been in
< < his life recently. In that brief time it took him to return to his
< < seat, I believe he heard words to the effect of, "You can do this,
< < George. I am with you always. And you can do this well, because I am
< < going before you. And don't worry about the weight. I've got it."
And
< < I saw in his eyes a quiet acknowledgment. "I know. Thank you, Lord."
< <
< < Back at his seat, when W sat down, George H. W. Bush reached over
and
< < took his son's hand. The elder Bush always struck me as a religious
< < man, but not someone who shared his life on a daily basis with the
< < Lord. George H. W. treats the Father like a respected uncle,
visiting
< < Him on appropriate holidays and knowing the relationship is real,
but
< < not constant.
< <
< < Anyway, I believe that in that fatherly squeeze George H. W. said,
"I
< < wish I could do this for you, son, but I can't. You have to do this
on
< < your own."
< <
< < W squeezed back and gave him that look of peace that Laura had kept
< < throughout. It said, "I don't have to do it alone, dad. I've got
help."
< <
< < What a blessing to have a professing Christian as President - one
who
< < is not ashamed to admit it! Please take a moment after you read this
< < to pray for him - he truly does have the weight of the world on his
< < shoulders. Pray that God will sustain him and give him wisdom and
< < discernment in his decisions. Make no mistake about it - the
< < decisions he makes in the coming days, weeks and months will
< < literally define the future of our country and the free world. Pray
< < for his protection and that of his family.
< <
< < After you have prayed, send this to everyone on your E-mail list.
Our
< < President needs Christians around the world to be praying for him.
As
< < this makes the E-mail rounds, eventually there could literally be
< < people praying for him 24/7!! He needs it.
< <
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