In 2001, First Lady Laura Bush selected Psalm 27 as the first Scripture quoted in a White House Christmas card: "Thy face, Lord, do I seek. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living." In previous years, numerous American presidents have welcomed Christmas as an opportunity to review Christ's role in the tapestry of human history. Their annual proclamations stir Americans to remember that God's goodness still prevails, and our perspective of current events is myopic unless we view our world and our nation through the illuminating lens of Christ's birth.
Harry Truman, December 24, 1950
"At this Christmastime we should renew our faith in God. We celebrate the hour in which God came to man. It is fitting that we should turn to Him....But all of us - at home, at war, wherever we may be - are within reach of God's love and power. We all can pray. We all should pray....We should pray for a peace which is the fruit of righteousness."
Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 24, 1953
"Might we not pray that He teach us? Teach us to shun the counsel of defeat and of despair of self-pride and self-deceit. Teach us, and teach our leaders, to seek to understand the problems and the needs of all our people. Teach us how those problems may reach solution in wisdom and how best those needs may be met. But teach us, also,that where there may be special problems, there can be no special rights; and though there may be special needs, there can be no special privileges. Teach us to require of all those who seek to lead us, these things: integrity of purpose; the upright mind, selfless sacrifice, and the courage of the just. Teach us trust and hope and self-dependence. Teach us the security of faith....And may we pray that He strengthen our conviction that whatever we, as Americans, would bring to pass in the heart of America....Lastly, should we not pray that He receive our thanks? For certainly we are grateful for all the good we find about us; for the opportunity given us to use our strength and our faith to meet the problems of this hour."
Gerald R. Ford, December 24, 1975
"The spirit of Christmas is ageless, irresistible and knows no barriers....It catches up saint and sinner alike in its warm embrace. It is the season to be jolly - but to be silent and prayerful as well. I know this will be a particularly happy Christmas for me....I celebrate it by joining with all of our citizens in observing a Christmas when Americans can honor the Prince of Peace in a nation at peace."
Ronald Reagan, December 15, 1983
"I know there are those who recognize Christmas Day as the birthday of a great and good man, a wise teacher who gave us principles to live by. And then there are others of us who believe that He was the Son of God, that He was Divine. If we live our lives for truth, for love, and for God, we never need be afraid."
George Bush, December 24, 1990
"Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you who are standing watch around the world. Never have I been prouder of our troops....Back home, some talk of the cost of war, but it is you who understand the price of peace. Each Christmas Day, we close our eyes in prayer and think of....how from a straw-littered stable shone a light which for nearly 20 centuries has given men strength, comfort, and peace. It's distant in time, but close within our hearts; because on this Christmas Day, hour by hour, hand in hand, Americans will send their prayers eastward across the ocean and halfway across the world not only to the town of Bethlehem but to the sands and shores where you stand in harm's way."
(Intercessors For America, Dec. 2012, www.IFAPray.org)
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