June 22

During the Civil War, a man once stayed overnight at the White House in Washington. In the middle of the night he awakened suddenly and thought he heard Lincoln’s voice, as though in pain, somewhere nearby. He jumped up, and went out into the dimly lit hall and, walking slowly in the direction of the voice, came to a door left ajar. Peering in, he beheld the lanky form of Lincoln prostrate on the floor in prayer, arms outstretched. Lincoln was humbly beseeching God to strengthen him against his sense of inadequacy. Lincoln knew he needed the great gift of God—“My peace I give unto you” so he sought and prayed for it with all his mind and heart.