President Obama and Prayers
from Eugene Cho at HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-cho/president-obama-prayer-conversation_b_1295706.html
____ When folks were introduced at this smaller gathering (meet and greet with the president), they all had "important" titles. I was simply introduced by "Eugene Cho" and I'm certain many were asking, "Who is this and why is he here?" In fact, President Obama, himself, had a puzzled look as he said, "Hello Eugene." So, I had to introduce myself to him and explained to him that I was a pastor here in Seattle and involved with some other work. We chit-chatted briefly about stuff, but there is something I very specifically remember, and I don't know if I'll ever forget this portion of our conversation.
I shared with President Obama that I occasionally but regularly prayed for him and this is how he responded:
"Thank you, Eugene. I really appreciate that. Can you also please pray for my wife and children? Pray for their protection."
His demeanor changed. Perhaps, this is just me. Perhaps, I'm reading and analyzing too much into all the non-verbal cues but then again, I'm a pastor and after 21 years of doing ministry, you develop a "pastoral sense" and I genuinely sensed his gratitude for prayer and his request for prayer for his family.
I haven't been able to stop thinking about our short conversation -- and a sense of the burden and weight of his job and the "calling" of the Presidency. In many ways, we ought to commend the courage of all those who step into leadership -- on any level -- including the highest level. We can criticize all we want about our current presidential candidates but we must commend them for their courage to place themselves in such vulnerable positions . . .
I am making an endorsement on this blog post and it is an endorsement for prayer and specifically, prayer for President Obama, First Lady Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha . . .
read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-cho/president-obama-prayer-conversation_b_1295706.html
