Nixon, Greitens discuss value of prayer

Gov. Jay Nixon, right, started off his speech Thursday with lighthearted remarks, causing laughter to erupt in the crowd, including Sheena and Gov.-elect Eric Greitens during the 2017 Governor's Prayer Breakfast.
Gov. Jay Nixon, right, started off his speech Thursday with lighthearted remarks, causing laughter to erupt in the crowd, including Sheena and Gov.-elect Eric Greitens during the 2017 Governor's Prayer Breakfast.

Prayer is important in the lives of leaders, both Gov. Jay Nixon and Gov.-elect Eric Greitens said Thursday.

"As I near the end of my second term, I've often been asked what things I'll remember most about my eight years being governor for 6.2 million Missourians," Nixon told more than 600 people attending the annual Missouri Governor's Prayer Breakfast. "And the answer I frequently give is how I've been impressed that the people of Missouri genuinely want their leaders to do well.

"I wish I could go through the thousands of times that I've been going through crowds or at an event or wherever - and people stop and they shake your hand and they look you right in the eye. And they say, 'Governor, I'm praying for you.'"

Those prayers have given him strength over the years, the governor said.

"Each time, it has given me a lift," he explained, "because you know you feel that power. It not only gives you a lift in your step but a confidence to make decisions.

"Make no mistake about it - a leader knowing that you're being prayed for gives you strength and gives you hope."

Nixon said he also has been impressed the wishes often have come from people who just suffered a tragedy.

"It really, really matters," he said. "It's a moving thing to hear - especially from a homeowner whose house has been destroyed by a tornado or flood. You come up to help them, and they say they're praying for you. Or at a crime victims' rights rally at the Capitol and the murdered child's parents say, 'I'm praying for you.' People giving their spirit in times of great, great challenge is important."

At the end of the morning's program, Greitens - who will be sworn in as Missouri's 56th governor at noon Monday - said: "Our prayers bind us to a shared and merciful purpose. I think faith helps us to remember that we are all here to do God's work on earth."

Greitens said his favorite Bible verse is Joshua 1:9, which states, "Neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee wherever thou goes."

The governor-elect noted God is with us every day, "knowing our imperfections (and) our weaknesses. And knowing that, we know that we need our God and we need each other."

Nixon described prayer as "a force that has power beyond human comprehension or explanation. And the Bible instructs us to pray without ceasing."

As in the past seven years, Nixon asked those attending the breakfast to make a free-will donation to the Samaritan Center.

Spokesman Scott Holste said Thursday's request resulted in $2,714 donated to the Jefferson City-based charity, bringing the total during the eight prayer breakfasts Nixon has hosted to $22,323.