Thursday marks the 69th Annual National Prayer Breakfast. The bipartisan event traditionally draws thousands of attendees to Washington each year, but this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s going to be a virtual event.
The annual event will feature Bible scripture readings from various members of Congress and a keynote address from former U.N. Ambassador and Civil Rights activist Andrew Young. President Joe Biden will also speak at the virtual event, whose participation follows the long line of presidents going back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Event co-chair and long time friend of Biden, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), tells CBN News faith is an important part of the president’s life.
“Something I learned early on is when he was traveling the country either campaigning for himself or for others he makes a point of finding a parish and getting to mass every Sunday,” he said.
Coons says Biden has leaned on his faith in times of tragedy including, the 1972 car accident that killed his first wife and one-year-old daughter, and the more recent passing of his son Beau, who died five years ago of brain cancer at the age of 46.
“Joe is someone who has suffered two just shattering losses in his life,” the senator explained. “And he said to me at one point, when life knocks you down that hard you make a basic choice – you either turn to God or turn away from God. And I think his faith was strengthened and deepened by the painful and powerful challenge of the loss of his beloved son Beau.”
Coons urges believers to pray for President Biden and other leaders no matter their party or politics.
“I think it is important that we pray for each other and in particular that we pray for those with whom we have conflict and difference,” he said. “It was one of Jesus’ most challenging commands that we pray for our enemies not just our friends, not just our immediate family, not just those who look like us, who live near us, but to pray for and work for the needs and concerns of those with whom we have great differences.”
Coons practiced what he preaches during the previous administration publicly praying for President Trump on more than one occasion.
“We ask that your blessing would be on him and his family as they serve us,” he prayed as he laid his hands on Trump at the 2019 prayer breakfast.
Coons believes the annual prayer breakfast is an important tradition to uphold.
“I think this annual national prayer breakfast, which is a gathering not just of Christians but of people with all faith backgrounds from across our nation and the world, is an important witness to the people of our country and the world about the significance of prayer in the history of the United States, in our understanding of who we are and whose we are, and in our understanding of what guides the trajectory of our nation,” he told CBN News.
In these deeply partisan times, the senator urges Christians to focus on what unites us and not what divides us.
“How do we come together as the body of Christ? It’s by being reminded that these divisions attached to particular political bills or spending priorities are temporary. They will pass away,” Coons noted. “Jesus Christ did not in his gospels layout a particular political agenda. He was clearly neither a Republican nor a Democrat.”
“I think our first challenge is to see each other as who we are as created people struggling to put in action our faith and that we are in fact connected together more by that faith than divided by its application,” he explained.
And the Delaware senator also warns we should not be guided by fear.
“Realize religious liberty is only secure when our broader democracy is secure. There was a shocking and tragic event just a few weeks ago here in the Capitol where thousands of angry people stormed the Capitol, smashed windows, beat police officers, killing one of them, and then stormed up and down the Capitol chanting “Hang Mike Pence” and other things,” Coons said. “That level of anger, that level of violence can never be acceptable in our society.”
“At a moment of constitutional peril, realize it’s important to not be so fired up by fear that we begin to hate one another. We would instead be best if we were inspired by love and pray for one another, and then try and persuade each other,” he continued.
Coons believes it’s important for believers with different political views to listen to each other and spend time together. He says that happens each week in D.C. at the bipartisan Senate Prayer Breakfast, and it’s what he hopes congregations and families across the country are willing to do as well.
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