Presidents’ Day was an excellent time to reflect on the Judeo-Christian heritage handed down to us by our Founding Fathers, and especially George Washington, the “Father of our Country.” George Washington was born Feb. 22, 1732, on a modest plantation in Virginia. The son of Augustine and Mary Washington, he was baptized into the Episcopal Church.
Tragically, Washington lost his father when he was only 11, and his mother worked hard to raise him as a committed Christian. She admonished him before he left home as a young soldier: “Remember that God is our only sure trust. To Him I commend you.” She added: “My son, neglect not the duty of secret prayer.”
Washington followed the counsel of his mother. The proof is in a well-worn, 24-page journal filled with prayers copied in his own handwriting that he titled “Daily Sacrifice.” The very first entry, called “Sunday Morning,” reads as follows:
“Almighty God, and most merciful Father, who didst command the children of Israel to offer a daily sacrifice to Thee, that thereby they might glorify and praise Thee for Thy protection both night and day … I beseech Thee, my sins, remove them from Thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept of me for the merits of Thy Son Jesus Christ … .”
In his “Sunday Evening” entry, he wrote the following:
“Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy holy word … Direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life. Bless, O Lord, all the people of this land.”
Other morning and evening prayers, each assigned a specific day, contained such invocations as: “Direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb,” and “Daily frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ.”
Washington’s God was no impersonal force, no distant deity, no celestial clock-maker watching his creation wind down as deists believe, but a personal God, whose Son died on the cross for sinners. Washington’s God cared about people, watched over those who followed the example of Jesus, and played an active role in world events.
America’s greatest hero and first President was no deist, but a devout, Bible-believing Christian. “Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me,” wrote Washington, “and Thou hast given me assurance of salvation … .”
In addition to his faithfulness to pray, young Washington was also diligent about reading the scriptures, which he always kept near his bed. It was a lifelong practice. According to those close to him at Mount Vernon, he would get up at 4 a.m., spend an hour in his library, kneeling before a chair, a candle on a stand next to it, with an open Bible on the seat. Then again at 9 or 10 p.m., he would retire to the library for another hour of the same. He spent at least two hours a day in prayer and Bible study.
George Washington cannot be understood apart from his Christian commitment and worldview. His numerous references to God’s providential hand in the formation of our nation were not just rhetoric, but were based on his understanding of scripture and his personal experience. One of his exploits prior to the War for Independence illustrates his God-centered perspective.
During the French and Indian War, young Washington was appointed as a colonel and assigned to serve alongside British General Braddock in 1755. Braddock’s mission was to take the French Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh), located at the fork of the Ohio River.
Before Washington left, his mother called him in and tried to talk him out of going on this mission. He respectfully reminded her: “The God to whom you commended me, madam, when I set out upon a more perilous errand, defended me from all harm, and I trust He will do so now. Do not you?”
Washington continued to bring his faith to bear on his role as the commander-in-chief of the American army and presidency. His biblical worldview permeated his public and his private life, as evidenced by his orders, his speeches, his conduct, his church attendance, his devotional life.
After a life full of public service, Washington declared in his Farewell Address: “Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” In other words, the twin pillars that hold up the American government are Christianity and morality. Washington continued: “Therefore, in vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism that seeks to subvert these great pillars.” Do not let anyone be called a patriot who tries to remove Christianity and morality from America – an admonition that needs to be heard in our day.
Indeed, before he became President, Washington sent a letter to the state governors that concluded with these words: “I now make it my earnest prayer that God … would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion (speaking of Jesus), and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.”
So believed George Washington, the Father of our Country.
Cureton is vice president for convention relations for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.