Trump’s First Cabinet Meeting Opens in Prayer, ‘Blessed Is the Nation Whose God Is the Lord’
President Trump’s first cabinet meeting of his new administration opened in prayer Wednesday, with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner asking God to bless the nation. Turner formerly served as an associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, where Jack Graham is senior pastor. During Trump’s first term, Turner was executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
On social media, Turner called it the “honor of a lifetime” to be able to open the meeting in prayer. A video of the prayer has been viewed more than 1 million times on X (formerly Twitter).
Turner cited Scripture in his 60-second prayer as he asked God to grant the nation’s leaders wisdom. He stood directly behind Trump as he prayed.
“Father, we thank You for this awesome privilege, Father, to be in Your presence,” Turner prayed. “God, thank You that You’ve allowed us to see this day. The Bible says that Your mercies are new every morning. And, Father God, we give You the glory and the honor. Thank You, God, for President Trump, Father, for appointing us. Father God, thank You for anointing us to do this job. Father, we pray You’ll give the president and the vice president wisdom, Father God, as they lead.
“Father, I pray for all of our colleagues that are here around the table and in this room,” he prayed. “Lord God, we pray that we would lead with a righteous clarity, Father God, and as we serve the people of this country and every perspective agency, every job that we have, Father, we would humble ourselves before You, and we would lead in a manner that You’ve called us to lead and to serve.
“Father, the Bible says that blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” Turner prayed as he concluded. “But, Father, we today honor You. And in Your rightful place, Father, thank You for giving us this opportunity to restore faith in this country and be a blessing to the people of America. And, Lord God, today in our meeting, we pray that You will be glorified in our conversation. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Trump thanked Turner for the prayer.
“Scott Turner is a terrific young guy,” Trump said. “He’s heading up HUD, and he’s going to make us all very proud.”
Giving the opening prayer at President Trump’s first cabinet meeting was the honor of a lifetime.
— Scott Turner (@SecretaryTurner) February 26, 2025
Thank you, @POTUS, for trusting me to lead @HUDgov and for giving me the opportunity to lift up Americans across the country.pic.twitter.com/bM5YyqEIna
Photo Credit: ©X/Scott Turner
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published February 27, 2025.
