February 16, 2026
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Honoring Presidents and Honoring God
Several years ago, Holy Spirit gave me direction to agree with the prayers of an individual I knew to already be in heaven. My first thought was that this could not be the Lord, as we are instructed in Scripture not to try to conjure up the dead. As I questioned these instructions, Holy Spirit made it clear to me that He was referring to agreement with the prayers and decrees this person had prayed while on earth. “His prayers are not dead,” He reminded me, “and I need the synergy of the ages.” The Lord then led me to Hebrews 11, especially verses 39-40:
“Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.” (MSG)
I write about this experience in greater detail in my books, An Appeal to Heaven, and Give Him 15, An Appeal to Heaven Devotional, Volume I. The generations are far more connected than most people understand. God even said the Levites paid tithes through their great-grandfather, Abraham (Hebrews 7:9)! God intends for us to honor, agree with, and build upon the righteous actions of our forefathers.
Today, on this Presidents’ Day, I am sharing several quotes from past U.S. presidents - from hundreds of possibilities - which state their faith in God, respect for His Word, and honor for Christ. Though not all of these presidents were Founding Fathers, their words carry great authority. They also serve to combat the lies of revisionists who try to diminish our Christian roots and heritage. And they provide us declarations we can agree with, creating the synergy of the ages:
“The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.” George Washington
“We recognize no sovereign but God, and no king but Jesus!” John Adams
“I consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for public service.” John Adams
“The reason that Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart.” Thomas Jefferson
“The Bible is the first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention.” John Quincy Adams
“My custom is to read four or five chapters of the Bible every morning immediately after rising. It seems to me the most suitable manner of beginning the day. It is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.” John Quincy Adams
“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.” John Quincy Adams
“We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” Abraham Lincoln
“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book upon reason that you can, and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man.” Abraham Lincoln
“All must admit that the reception of the teachings of Christ results in the purest patriotism, in the most scrupulous fidelity to public trust, and in the best type of citizenship.” Grover Cleveland
“And to the Divine Author of every good and perfect gift, we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land.” James Monroe
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” Theodore Roosevelt
“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.” Calvin Coolidge
“The study of the Bible is a postgraduate course in the richest library of human experience.” Herbert Hoover
“The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.” John F. Kennedy
“Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.” Ronald Reagan
“If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” Ronald Reagan
As we offer up prayers and decrees, we can agree with these and other portions of America’s history, doing so with a conscious faith that God is hearing our appeals, and the sword we release is powerful. As many thousands of us do so, agreeing together in Christ’s name, we are releasing His Kingdom will into the earth. And His Kingdom wins - always.
Our prayer and decree:
Father, You have taught us the power of “the synergy of the ages.” We know that You will finish through future generations what You began in the past. It is our privilege to honor those in history and build on the foundations You established through them. We are reminded that the words “patriot” and “patriotism” come from the Greek word for father/s (pater).(1) We desire to be true patriots, honoring and embracing the vision, work, and efforts of our Founders.
Therefore, we make the following decrees today from the words they wrote:
We decree that we recognize no sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus.
We decree that the highest glory of the American Revolution was that it connected in one insoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.
We decree that we will not forget God and His gracious hand, which has preserved us in peace, multiplied us, and enriched us bountifully.
We decree that the reception of the teachings of Christ results in the purest patriotism, the most scrupulous fidelity to public trust, and the best type of citizenship.
We decree that knowledge of the Bible is worth more than all other education and training.
We decree that we will never forget we are one nation UNDER GOD.
And we decree that life is in the power of these words and that we will eat the fruit thereof (Proverbs 18:21). America shall be saved!
A note from Dutch: Three of the best books for quotes from America’s early leaders and Founders, as well as information regarding America’s beginning, are:
America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations by William J. Federer
Faith of Our Founding Fathers by Leo Godzich
The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel (out of print, but copies can be found in libraries and some bookstores)
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. ref. no. 3962.