Im very glad to be joined by many members of my cabinet. They are doing a terrific job. I want to extend our appreciation to the first lady of rwanda for leading the opening prayer. Thank you. Thank you very much. [applause] President Trump i also want to thank my two great friends, they are two terrific people. Stand up, mark. You deserve it even though it comes from hollywood. [applause] President Trump roma, thank you very much. Thank you for being here. Major scottie smiley and tiffany were moved by your faith and your courage and inspired by your service and sacrifice. That was really beautiful. Thank you very much. Thank you. [applause] and steve scalise, we are so glad to have you with us today. Your presence reminds us of jesus words in the book of matthew, with god all things are possible. You are fantastic. You really are, steve. Fantastic man. [applause] america is a nation of believers and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer. This morning our hearts are full of gratitude as we come together for the 66th annual National Prayer breakfast. But our hearts are also saddened by the absence of the cofounder of this wonderful breakfast who passed away last year, doug koe, who everybody loved. [applause] for 60 years doug devoted his time and passion to this Prayer Breakfast and to many other wonderful causes. Today we are blessed to be joined by dougs wife, jan, and two of their sons, david and tim. [applause] thank you. Thank you very much. I want to thank you for carrying on dougs legacy, also, and bringing our nation together in prayer. You are indeed carrying on his great legacy. Each year this event reminds us that faith is central to American Life and to liberty. Our founders invoked our creator four times in the declaration of independence. Our currency declares in god we trust. [applause] and we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the pledge of allegiance and proclaim we are one nation under god. [applause] our rights are not given to us by man. Our rights come from our creator. [applause] no matter what. No earthly force can take those rights away. [applause] that is why the words praise be to god are etched atop the Washington Monument and those same words are etched into the hearts of our people. So today we praise god for how truly blessed we are to be american. [applause] across our land we see the splendor of gods creation. Throughout our history we see the story of gods providence. And in every city and town we see the lords grace all around us through a million acts of kindness, courage and generosity. We love god. We see the lords grace in the Service Members who risk their lives for our freedom. We see it in the teachers who work tirelessly for their students and the police who sacrifice for our communities and sacrifice they do. [applause] and we see the lords grace in the moms and dads who work two and three jobs to give their children the chance for beater and much more prosperous and happier life. As the bible tells us, for we are gods handy work created in jesus christ to do good works. Americas heroes rise to this calling. In their selfless deeds, they reveal the beauty and goodness of the human soul. When catastrophic hurricanes struck, First Responders and everyday citizens dove into Rushing Waters to save stranded families from danger and they saved them by the thousands. Neighbors opened their homes to those in need of food, clothes, shelter, firefighters braved blinding smoke and flames to rescue children from devastating wildfires. During the horrific shootings, strangers shielded strangers, and Police Officers ran into a hail of bullets to save the ives of their fellow americans right in las vegas. A terrible day. A terrible night. But such bravery. Amilies have adopted babies, orphaned by the Opioid Epidemic and given them loving homes. Communities and churches have reached out to those struggling with addiction and showed them the path to a clean life, a good job, and a renewed sense of purpose. And soldiers, sailors, coast guardsmen, airmen and marines have spent long months away rom home defending our Great American flag. [applause] all we have to do is open our eyes and look around us and we can see gods hand in the courage of our fellow citizens, we see the power of gods love at work in our souls and the power of gods will to answer all of our prayers. When americans are able to live by their convictions to speak openly of their faith and to teach their children what is right, our families thrive. Our communities flourish, and our nation can achieve anything at all. [applause] together as americans we are a tireless force for justice and for peace. We have witnessed this truth over the past year. For years isis had brutally tortured and murdered christians, jews, religious minorities and countless muslims. Today, the coalition to defeat is has liberated almost 100 of the territory just recently held by these killers in iraq and all throughout syria. [applause] much work will always remain, but we will never rest until that job is completely done and we are really doing it like never before. [applause] we know that millions of people in iran, cuba, venezuela, north korea and others suffer under oppressive and brutal regimes. America stands with all people suffering oppression and religious persecution. Last week during the state of the union, the world was inspired by the story of a mr. Ji rean defector, sung ho who is now back in south korea. Before his escape when sung ho was being tortured by north korean officials, there was one thing that kept him from losing hope. Over and over again he recited the lords prayer. He prayed for peace and he prayed for freedom. And now as you know, sung ho is free and a symbol of hope to millions of people all around the world. [applause] here with us today is another symbol of hope. A very brave 9yearold girl amed sofia marie campa peters. Sofia suffers from a rare disease that has caused her to have many strokes. At one point the doctors told sofia that she would not be able to walk. Sofia replied, if youre only going to talk about what i cant do, then i dont want to hear it. Just let me try to walk. [applause] she tried and she succeeded and one of her doctors even told her mom and theyre right here in the front row where they should be, this little girl has god on her side. [applause] thank you, sofia. Thank you, mom. Great mom. I said, do you love your mom . She said, i have a great mom. I love my mom. Right . Just two weeks ago sofia needed to have a very highrisk surgery. She decided to ask the whole world to pray for her and she hoped to reach 10,000 people. On january 24, as sofia went nto surgery, she far surpassed her goal. Millions and millions of people lifted sofia up in their prayers. Today we thank god that sofias with us and shes recovering and shes walking very well. [applause] and i have to say this, sofia. You may only be 9 years old but you are already a hero to all of us in this room and all over the world. Thank you, sofia. [applause] heroes like sofia come from all across our country and from every different background. But they all share one thing in common through their love, their courage, their sacrifice, we glimpse the grace of almighty god. So today, inspired by our fellow citizens, let us resolve to find the best within ourselves. Let us pray for that extra measure of strength and that extra measure of devotion and let us seek to build a more just and Peaceful World where every child can grow up without violence, worship without fear, and reach their godgiven potential. As long as we are true to americas founding and the example that all of these great founders have set, we can all be heroes to everybody and they can be heroes to us. As long as we open our eyes to gods grace and open our hearts to gods love, then america will forever be the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the life allth