As U.S. President Joe Biden listened to Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli perform “Amazing Grace,” he appeared to wipe a tear from his eye.
During Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast at Capitol Hill, Biden spoke with emotion in calling for greater peace and understanding at home and abroad.
The president urged that “we continue to believe our best days are ahead of us,” saying the United States should “continue to believe in honesty, decency, dignity and respect. We see each other not as enemies, but as fellow human beings, each made in the image of God.”
He continued, “Not only do we pray for peace, we are actively working for peace, security and dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.”
Biden issued a similar call for the Ukrainian people as they show “incredible resolve and resilience” amid the ongoing war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
House leaders Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) read prayers from the Bible. Johnson read Psalm 37, and Jeffries read Proverbs 4:20-27. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” Jeffries said.
