LISTEN or WATCH NOW!
It is an answer to prayer to have President Donald Trump and his administration in place. There have been many things changed in America over the past two years, and one of those changes is that God is in the White House again! President Trump acknowledges the National Day of Prayer at the White House with a gathering of religious leaders and others. It is encouraging to see more positive Godly events taking place in the White House.
We join President Trump at the White House in the Rose Garden as he makes remarks on the National Day of Prayer. “In March of 1776, as the Founders prepared to draft the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress asked everyone to join in a day of prayer and fasting for the “Cause of Freedom.” They go hand in hand. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. Today, we give thanks for this magnificent country. And we proudly come together as one nation under God. And one of the things that Mike, and I were discussing just a little while ago: People are so proud to be using that beautiful word, “God.” And they’re using the word “God” again. And they’re not hiding from it. And they’re not being told to take it down. And they’re not saying, “We can’t honor God.” “In God, we trust.” So important.
“A little thing on the campaign, but it wasn’t such a little thing to me: When I first started four years ago — haven’t been doing this so long; we did a good job — but when I first started campaigning, people were not allowed or, in some cases, foolishly ashamed to be using on stores “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Christmas.” They’d say, “Happy Holidays.” They’d have red walls, and you’d never see “Christmas.” That was four years ago. Take a look at your stores nowadays. It’s all “Merry Christmas” again. “Merry Christmas” again. They’re proud of it. I always said, “You’re going to be saying, “Merry Christmas” again. And that’s what’s happened. As we unite on this day of prayer, we renew our resolve to protect communities of faith and to ensure that all people, and all of our people, can live and pray and worship in peace.
“In recent months — it’s been pretty tough — we’ve seen evil and hate-filled attacks on religious communities in the United States and all around the world. One month ago, three historically black churches were burned, tragically, in Louisiana. In Sri Lanka and New Zealand, hundreds of Christians and Muslims were brutally murdered at their places of worship. In October, an anti-Semitic killer attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. That was a horrible event. The First Lady and I went. To see that was not even believable.”
Five days before this event, the Chabad of Poway in California was attacked by a gunman shooting up this house of worship as people were gathered that Saturday morning. It is a terrible tragedy!
“And last week, a gunman opened fire at a Synagogue in Poway, California, while Jewish families celebrated the last day of Passover. We mourn for the loss of one extraordinary member of that congregation, Lori Gilbert-Kay, who stood in front of the shooter and gave her life to protect her rabbi. An incredible man and an incredible person. This morning, we are privileged to be in the presence of heroes who raced after the murderer and helped disrupt the attack at the Poway Synagogue: Army Veteran Oscar Stewart and Border Patrol Agent Jonathan Morales…Your bravery is an inspiration to us all.
“We’re also profoundly honored to be joined by somebody that I’ve gotten to know a little bit by telephone. I had a — what was going to be about a one-minute conversation just to express my sorrow and gratitude and everything else you could express, and it ended up being about 25 minutes. And it was a very warm — he’s a very warm, incredible man: Yisroel Goldstein –Rabbi. And I’ll tell you; it wasn’t in the schedule, but, Rabbi, I’d love to bring you up because there was nobody that expressed the horror and the beauty of what you represent better than you did. And I very appreciate it, Rabbi. I know you’re here with your son and your brother. I very much appreciate it. Please come up and say a few words.”
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein takes the stage and shares his experience through the attack on his congregation. “Just five days ago, Saturday morning, I faced evil and the worst darkness of all time, right in our own house of worship, right at Chabad of Poway. I faced him, and I had to make a decision: Do I run and hide? Or do I stand tall and fight, and protect all those that are there? We cannot control what others do, but we can control how we react.
“My dear Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, taught me the way we react to darkness is with light. It was that moment that I made a decision: No matter what happens to me, I’m going to save as many people as possible. I should’ve been dead by now, based on the rule of statistics. I was in the line of fire, bullets flying all the way. My fingers got blown off, but I did not stop. The Rebbe taught me, as a Jew, you are a soldier of God, you need to stand tall and stand fast, and do whatever it takes to change the world. My life has changed forever, but it changed so I could make a change and I could help others learn how to be strong, how to be mighty and tall. Many have asked me, “Rabbi, where do we go from here? How do we prevent this?” And my response is what my Rebbe told me when President Ronald Reagan was shot. The Rebbe said, “We need to go back to the basics and introduce a moment of silence in all public schools so that children, from early childhood on, could recognize that there’s more good to the world, that they are valuable, that there is accountability, and every human being is created in God’s image.” If something good could come out of this terrible, terrible, horrific event, let us bring back a moment of silence to our public-school system.
“I also want to thank the United States of America. I’d like to thank our dear, honorable Mr. President for being, as they say in Yiddish, a “mensch par excellence.” Mr. President, when you called me, I was at home weeping. You were the first person who began my healing. You heal people in their worst of times, and I’m so grateful for that.”
President Trump continues by thanking Rabbi Goldstein, “And truly, your courage and your grace and devotion touches every heart and soul in America. We’re blessed by having you and your family here with us today. Thank you, Rabbi. And please give our regards to everybody. That was a tough, tough period of time. We will fight with all of our strength and everything that we have in our bodies to defeat anti-Semitism, to end the attacks on the Jewish people, and to conquer all forms of persecution, intolerance, and hate…
“Every citizen has the absolute right to live according to the teachings of their faith and the convictions of their heart. This is the bedrock of American life. To protect this heritage, my administration has strongly defended religious liberty — two words you haven’t heard too much about for a long period of time. But now you’re hearing it all the time: religious liberty. Earlier this week, I took action to ensure that federal employees can take paid time off to observe religious holy days.
And just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students, and faith-based charities…
“Together, we are building a culture that cherishes the dignity and worth of human life. Every child, born and unborn, is a sacred gift from God…in addition, I am committing to you today that my administration will preserve the central role of faith-based adoption and foster care agencies to care for vulnerable children while following their deeply held beliefs. And those are words you probably never thought you’d ever hear.
“To give former inmates a second chance at life, we passed criminal justice reform…Ivanka and Jared worked so hard. Now, for the first time, faith-based organizations can serve federal prisoners. They can take care of the people in, and they can take care of prisoners as they get out. And we’ve had the greatest success because of the economy being so strong, where people leaving prison — now on a much more fair basis — but people leaving prison can get jobs. And they’ve done incredibly well. Employers who would never have done that before because there was a stigma, obviously. There was a pretty tough stigma. So, they wouldn’t go that route, and people would end up back in prison. But now employers that would not have done that before are doing it, and they’re so happy. I know somebody who’s put on seven prisoners — former prisoners — and he told me, “You have no idea how really great they are, how good they are.” He actually said, “They’re better than most of the other people working there.” So that’s a tremendous thing…
“And we’re also supporting faith-based addiction recovery programs because we understand the power of prayer. And I will say our First Lady has taken to this. It’s incredible what she’s done. And we’re down 16 percent with opioids. Sixteen percent is a lot. And, Melania, please stand up. That’s a fantastic job you’ve done…And we’re also trying very hard, through the tremendous amounts of billions and billions of dollars that we give out to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies and everybody, to come up with painkillers that are non-addictive, so you don’t go into the hospital with a broken arm and come out a drug addict, which is what happens, in many cases. So, we are trying to come up, and we’re getting very close to come up with a powerful painkiller that, at the same time, is non-addictive…
“Here with us today is Ashley Evans from Dayton, Ohio, who was Melania’s guest at the State of the Union. Two years ago, Ashley was suffering from the grip of heroin addiction when she found out that she was pregnant. She returned to a recovery center and was welcomed by her mentor, Angie Dennis, who was waiting at the door. Ashley and Angie developed a great relationship. And Angie said to her, “I’m so glad you made it back. I’ve been praying for you.” Today, Angie is sitting right next to Ashley. And as Ashley says, “Prayer is what got me clean.” Beautiful words. Next week, Ashley will celebrate 16 months free from addiction. And she’s earned back the custody of her beautiful daughter, Olivia, who is here, also, right now with mom.”
Ashley Evans takes the stage next, giving God all the glory for her freedom from addiction. “I would just like to say that finding God saved my life. It’s been incredible. It’s been a journey, but without Him, I could not do this. And I’d like to say: Thank you, Angie, for helping me find Him. It’s been a crazy experience. It’s been incredible. God has been with me every step of the way, and everything has worked out perfectly. I have reunited with Olivia. I have an amazing support system back home and in Columbus, Ohio. And I’ve gotten to do some amazing things. And that’s by the grace of God. So, thank you.”
Angie Dennis, who runs the recovery center Ashley stayed at, shares about Ashley’s recovery, “She is so awesome. You know, the biggest honor that I could have was to pass along to Ashley — it’s a relationship with Jesus. It’s a relationship. It’s not a religion. It’s not a bunch of rules. It’s just that personal relationship, you know. And if you’ll trust Him, and you do your part — you do your part, and then trust Him and ask for help for the rest, He’ll make doors open that no man can close. You know? So, I’m just honored to be a part of this.”
President Trump continues, “Ashley, Olivia, and Angie: Thank you for being with us and for reminding us that prayer works miracles, and prayer saves lives.”
It seems that we have never heard a President speak so openly and authentically about God and faith. It is encouraging to hear from him and others speaking from our nation’s capital while honoring God. What do you think about the National Day of Prayer being honored at the White House? We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected]. Greg and John shared in this segment.
Screenshot courtesy of The White House
RELATED CONTENT
President Trump and The First Lady Participate in the National Day of Prayer Service
iAbide.org
Emmaus Road Discipleship
VFN Kingdom Business
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Follow us on Twitter
Partner with VFNKB