tradition<\/a> that harks back to 1942 when legislators held informal prayer meetings during the darkest days of the Second World War. In 1953, President Eisenhower oversaw the first official national prayer event. In 1970, the annual faith assembly on the first Thursday of February became known as the National Prayer Breakfast.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re all blessed to live in a nation where we can practice our many faiths and practice them freely and where we can come together and lift up our nation and each other in our own prayers, especially in tough times,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n
The program began with Andrea Bocelli singing the Lord\u2019s Prayer and concluded with the tenor\u2019s rendition of \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone,\u201d followed by a closing prayer by House Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben.<\/p>\n
In the spirit of bipartisanship, Republican Congressman Tracey Mann and Democrat Congressman Frank Mrvan served as the honorary co-chairs of this year\u2019s breakfast. The two lawmakers jointly read a prayer, followed by other members of Congress from both parties who read Scripture and prayed for the president.<\/p>\n
Keynote speaker Senate Chaplain Barry Black cited the cleansing power of fasting and prayer in times of crisis. \u201cI\u2019m talking about representatives, senators, chiefs of staff, waiters, waitresses, janitors were fasting and praying,\u201d he said. \u201cHundreds of us have been doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting that the actions of fasting and prayer are cornerstones of many religions\u2014including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, to name a few\u2014he asked that people here and abroad follow the advice of Methodism founder John Wesley of not eating until mid-afternoon twice a week. \u201cIt\u2019s easier than it sounds,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Following the tradition set by his predecessors, Mr. Biden thanked others for their prayers on his behalf and then described his own, for the families of three service members recently killed in Jordan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only do we pray for peace, we are actively working for peace, security, dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m engaged in this day and night, working as many of you in this room are, to find the means to bring our hostages home, to ease the humanitarian crisis and to bring peace to Gaza and Israel \u2014 an enduring peace with two states for two peoples \u2014 just as we worked for peace, security and dignity for the Ukrainian people as they show incredible resolve and resilience against Putin\u2019s aggression. We must continue to help them,\u201d he said, adding that standing against bigotry\u2014such as antisemitism and Islamophobia, and bias against Americans of Arab or South Asian heritage\u2014was a \u201ccalling,\u201d and \u201ca covenant we have with one another to hold this nation together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden received a standing ovation at his concluding words: \u201cUntil we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand: That\u2019s sincerely my prayer to all of you. We have really tough, tough differences. We really go at one another. But let\u2019s remember who the hell we are. We\u2019re the United States of America. It\u2019s all about dignity and respect so let\u2019s practice it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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