C O V E R S T O R Y Posted Thursday, May 01, 2003 My dear friends: Thank you for allowing me to come into your home. Please, scroll down before you decide to delete this message. It really is from the Lord, to my heart, to you. You will find some interesting thoughts here. After preaching in almost 4,500 services to thousands and thousands of people... After seeing so many touched so mightily by God in the meetings... After watching their tears, hearing their cries, and listening to their promises... some I thought would never fall away from God... There were some I thought would rather die than to deny... only now, to see some of them, one by one, fall into sin. My heart broke when I looked into their eyes. It was almost the same scenario. Some had not seen me for a while. Some would even try to hide. Some would even deny they needed that much of God any more. But I knew... and there it would be... the deep sigh, almost like a gasp or cry. When their spirit looked at an ugly, old, fat man, still on fire, it made their spirit cry. Invariably, they would pull me aside and ask the same question. They would remember the good old days, when sin seemed so far away. They remembered the times when even the thought of turning from God to sin was sickening. Why, they would say, why? or how could this happen to me? Some were so busy about God's business. Some were so successful. By the world's standards, everything looked ok, but inside they were dry. Inside, they were dark and lonely. Why? I would say. Tell me now, do you really remember, the good old days? Night after night, you could not wait to get into the presence of the Lord. When you woke up, that smile would return from the night before. Your day was planned by the Lord. Do you remember those days? Tell me now, how much time did you spend with the Lord today? Did you whisper in His ear how much you love Him today? Has the Holy Spirit come into your heart to show you the secret things of God in His special way? Or, are you too busy about God's business - and your business - that you forgot to say, Hello. Oh, you will tell me you are busy. Oh, you will tell me you have a job to get to, kids to feed, dress, a husband or wife to help. Then, there are board meetings, church meetings, sports meetings. There is T-ball, basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, golf, dancing lessons and swimming. The list of things we make for ourselves is unending. Are we doing them for the Lord, or for fear of failure? In our desire to be the best, we forget the real things in life. We forget how to rest. How much time have we spent with our love? Did we spend as much time with Him as we spent getting dressed today? Do you remember the lessons we learned almost 10 years ago - the lessons about getting spiritually dressed, when we get physically dressed in the morning? When the Word said, Awake, Awake put on your spiritual garments. Did the Lord mean it, or was He trying to be mean? Doesn't He understand we are busy? Doesn't He understand we have so much to do? We don't have time for those childish things any more. We must be about our business. So, I always ask the same question. How much time did you spend with God today? How much time did you sing to Him? How much time did you read His love letters to you? Was each word a treasure? As we watched our soldiers in Iraq cry over each letter they got on the battle front, young men would break down in tears, and re-read the same letter, over and over again. They would hold those love letters to their chest as if they were the most precious posession in their life. Did you do that with your love letter from Jesus today? Did you sing your love song to Him today? Did you recognize His voice when He came near? We could watch a mother see her son on TV, as her son said HI MOM, from the back of a crowd. She recognized his voice right away. A mom, who knew her baby's cry when he was young - of course, she knew the voice of her son. Whether mother, father or love, they knew the voice of their loved one. They strained to hear even just one word. How about you. Do you remember the good, old days when Jesus was so near? Do you remember when you could hear even when He whispered in your ear? What is the point of all this you say? What good does it do? Well, let me tell you, my friend, Jesus has not changed. Jesus has not moved, Jesus has not gone anywhere. So, how about you. Have you moved? My heart was moved to tears May 1st when I watched my president - the busiest man in the world - taking time to ask the nation to pray. He, then, had some fun. You will tell me I want to have fun. Well, watch the busiest man in the world. He has time to run the nation, but he also has time to pray. It's time, America, to get back to the basics. It's time to get back to touching this nation by touching God first. Will you join me with the President in showing God that there are a few out here who really care? How did you start your day today? This is how the President started his. He prayed for you, then the nation. I am so thankful that we have a leader who is not afraid to lead us by example. Remember, this is the National Day of Prayer. I was wondering if you would like to come to our site and add a hearty AMEN to the prayer - letting God know we stand with Him. I am sending this to you because I know it will never make the national news. We, as Christians, must stand together in unity and prayer, if we are ever going to make a difference. After the prayer meeting, he went out and had some fun. He flew a jet fighter and landed on the USS Lincoln.

	President's Remarks view listen

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming, thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad you're here at the people's house. Laura and I welcome you, we're really pleased to have you here. I want to thank each of you for participating in the National Day of Prayer. It's a good time to be praying -- every day is a good day to pray. (Laughter.)

Today we recognize the many ways our country has been blessed, and we acknowledge the source of those blessings. Millions of Americans seek guidance every day in prayer to the Almighty God. I am one of them. I also know that many Americans remember Laura and me in their prayers, and we are so very, very grateful....................

I really want to thank the Washington National Cathedral Choir of men and girls, it is a fabulous way to begin a morning, to walk down the corridor here and hear your beautiful voices echo throughout this magnificent house. We're really glad you're here, and thank you for -- thank you for sharing your talents..........

So many great events in our nation's history were shaped by men and women who found strength and direction in prayer. The first President to live in this house composed a prayer on his second evening here for all who would follow him. Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, knew that his burdens were too great for any man, so he carried them to God in prayer. Over the radio on D-Day in 1944, Franklin Roosevelt prayed for God's blessing on our mission to "set free a suffering humanity."

This past month has been another time of testing for America and another time of intense prayer. Americans have been praying for the safety of our troops and for the protection of innocent life in Iraq. Americans prayed that war would not be necessary, and now pray that peace will be just and lasting.

We continue to pray for the recovery of the wounded and for the comfort of all who have lost a loved one. The Scriptures say: the Lord is near to all who call on him. Calling on God in prayer brings us nearer to each other. After his son was rescued from northern Iraq, the father of Sergeant James Riley of New Jersey said, "We have been flooded with people's prayers. Everyone is praying for us and we are so grateful." .............

To pray for someone else is an act of generosity. We set our own cares aside and look to strengthen another. Prayer teaches humility. We find that the plan of the Creator is sometimes very different from our own. Yet, we learn to depend on His loving will, bowing to purposes we don't always understand. Prayer can lead to a grateful heart, turning our minds to all the gifts of life and to the great works of God.

Prayer can also contribute to the life of our nation. America is a strong nation, in part because we know the limits of human strength. All strength must be guided by wisdom and justice and humility. We pray that God will grant us that wisdom, that sense of justice and that humility in our current challenges, and in the years ahead.

I thank you all for helping to keep prayer an integral part of our national life.
May God bless each one of you,
and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

After going to the National Day of Prayer, our President decided to fly to California - then get in a fighter jet and land on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

WASHINGTON — Navy One instead of Air Force 1, landed with perfect precision aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (search) Thursday, delivering President Bush aboard the longest-deployed nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in U.S. history.
Bush also made history as the first president to land on a ship with the help of cables that stretch across the deck. The cables catch the plane and pull it to a stop in less than 300 feet.