Obama Says He Prays 'All The Time' For Guidance

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he's gone from praying nightly before going to bed to praying all the time because he has a "lot of stuff" on his plate and needs "guidance all the time."

Obama made the comments in an interview to air Thursday on ABC's "Nightline."

Obama says he thinks every president has been humbled by the number of issues they have had to deal with. He says he thinks they are quickly cured of the illusion that one person can solve all those problems.

Comments

[Lorianne]

Oh I love this. After 8 years of Bush being mocked because he prays, now all of a sudden it's cool to pray.

[TruthnPolitics]

Obama prays all the time for guidance? Maybe to Allah to help him destroy America.
He certainly is not trying to help America pull out of this depression. Everything he has done so far is to try and take away the rights granted to us by the U.S. Constitution. Oh, by the way Obama, we are still waiting to see your birth certificate. You know, the one you're spending millions of dollars in lawyers fees to prevent the courts from looking at it. Want to know more about this fraud? Visit: www. Stop-Obama­.Info.

[luvangelHussein330]

What ever he needs to do to get thru the mess left to him and the mess his fellow dems and rethugs want to continue to sling all for the sake of thier own pocket books, ego, and power

[1088]

I don't care where he gets his strength to work hard for the American people, so long he finds it. When a person pray, it's about having the faith to see what ever through with strength and conviction. We will get Health Care.

[kotexbarbie]

Maybe he's praying for D / c K.

[GEM-592]

I admit I feel naive after reading that.

[Michele Himmel]

Just wondering who he prays to........­.

[Oldtt]

George Gallup (1901-1984), the patron saint of politicians.

[GEM-592]

Yaw ... and some people think he talked prayer on abc only when responding to an unscripted, unanticipated question regarding the subject.

[Gripen]

If any politician here in sweden says he pray for guidance (exept if they are christian democrates) so would they have commit political suicide, after all we seperated chuch and state in model after america after ww2 at least from the politics and tossed out the church physicaly and started to tax the churches 2002.

If i was him would i study diffrent models of healthcare in diffrent countries and look on metods to regulate wall street instead of look in a bible.

[MoreDimensions]

"f i was him would I study different models of health care in different countries and look on methods to regulate wall street "

Great point, however he is not looking in the Bible for answers. He is looking to calm his mind so he can see the answers more clearly.

[GEM-592]

mind reader here, or was that divination?

[saltgirl]

Thank you, Gripen.

[Oldtt]

The Bible doesn't say anything about universal healthcare. Therefore we don't need it and shouldn't have it. Same thing with pepperoni and beagles.

[Oldtt]

If he prays for guidance on universal healthcare, he should keep trying.

[GEM-592]

Yes, we'd better hope he's praying right now and starts fasting tomorrow.

[BethS]

Bigotry against gays, racial minorities, atheists, and those who are part of a religious group is the same. So, if you hate racial discrimination, but insult and debase Christians you are a liar and a hypocrite. Why is everyone judge, jury and executioner? Our President prays. So?

[GEM-592]

Not believing in Christianity is not an insulting, debasing, or otherwise hateful act.

[MoreDimensions]

"Judge not lest we be judged"

Many people of religious bent have interpreted this to be about the way God will judge us. A simpler truth is that when we judge others we are judging ourselves. If we ridicule and throw scorn at others, then we are only reflecting outward that which is already inside.

[judyx]

He doesn't seem like the praying type to me.

Pandering to religious people isn't necessary. I'd rather he was just honest.

[GEM-592]

too bad he finds it politically necessary.

[suec03]

Please read some contemporary writing on prayer. Intercessory prayer (asking God for stuff) seems to be what people first think of. In answering a question about prayer at a televised campaign forum, Pres. Obama made it clear that was not his style. For him, prayer is more about an intense, meditative focus to determine, following his sense of ethics and justice, what is the best course of action.

[GEM-592]

Really, and this is the point, I TRULY HOPE he doesn't need prayer for this. He can't stop to pray every time he needs to make a decision. Real life people.

[MoreDimensions]

The prayer of needing things is that of a child. it is only when we mature that we see the true meaning of what prayer is about. Your last sentence sums it up quite well.

[BethS]

And what does the praying type look like?

[GEM-592]

You could use a real avatar so we can all see.

[kotexbarbie]

J@ s u s.

[veritas2u]

I pray everyday that the president knows what he is doing.

[MoreDimensions]

Me too! Were all in this boat together.

[suec03]

Please don't assume that the only way to pray is to ask a Santa Claus figure in the sky to intervene and solve your problems. So far we know Pres. Obama's Christian background has been in the liberal Congregationalist denomination (and the grandparents who raised him attended Unitarian churches). Put that together with the way he answered a question about prayer during the campaign. I think at most he prays (or meditates if you will) for the emotional strength, strength of will, and wisdom/rea­son/discer­nment to figure out the best way to handle the situations he is facing. He is a Christian who embraces reason, not a magical-thinking fundamentalist.

[Oldtt]

Or not. Only he knows for sure. I always assumed that Obama was not very religious, but maybe the job will convert him.

[Mike Barden]

Yep, he seems to be gettin' ready for his baptism.

[GEM-592]

How would you know?

[surfvenice]

haha, yeah right.

[BlueLeader]

What a waste of time.

[GEM-592]

Please, moon-units (you know who you are), reply here instead of to me for awhile ... keeping you all humble is hard work, and we need a shift change.

[MoreDimensions]

One of tools that the egocentric mind uses is role playing. The person thinks "I am playing a role, I am making a difference". All the while a person is playing that role they are covering up the true meaning of life itself and where they fit in. It is when we release ourselves from role playing that we can calm our minds filtering out all the garbage and see our inner soul.