At the National Prayer Breakfast in February, President Obama noted that his friend, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., prays for him.

Pictured: James Lankford 

"It's comforting to know people are praying for you who don't always agree with you," Obama said. "Even though we are on opposite sides of a whole bunch of issues, part of what has bound us together is a shared faith, a recognition that we pray to and serve the same God."

The conversations between Capitol Hill and the White House haven't been so lovey-dovey but in early November, a freshman Republican and two Democrats dissipated a little of the acrimony. The three congressmen -- Reps. Dan Boren, D-Okla., Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., and James Lankford, R-Okla. -- distributed to all 435 members of the House of Representatives a book titled "Obama Prayer: Prayer for the 44th President," by Charles Garriott, who ministers to those in the federal government through Mission to North America, an arm of the Presbyterian Church in America. 

The congressmen included a letter with each book, where they wrote, "All of us who have served our nation as members of the House understand the place and significance of prayer. Over the years we have prayed for presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr. and Jr." They added that the book is "a means of encouraging specific and thoughtful prayer for President Barack Obama." 

Lankford, a Southern Baptist, said, "We'll pray for those in authority ... when we line up in the same party. [But] that's not the biblical mandate." He added that Christians should "pray for the president, no matter who he is." 

The congressman then pulled out his iPad in the Speaker's lobby by the House floor during a vote to read from Proverbs 21:1: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord."

Lankford said he's had good feedback from Republican members who received the book. 

"There are issues there, in Congress, with how we speak about each other," he said. "This is a place that sometimes feels like middle school. The more you criticize, the more you're encouraged." 

Source: Baptist Press | Emily Belz

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