President Trump gave an Easter message requesting Americans to pray for healing of the nation ahead of the coronavirus task force briefing on Friday at the White House.
"I ask all Americans to pray that God will heal our nation; to bring comfort to those who are grieving; to give strength to the doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers; to restore health to the sick; and to renew the hope in every person who is suffering. Our nation will come through like never before," The president said.
He also encouraged people to focus on spending personal time during quarantine period. "As people won't be able to gather together with one another as we normally would on Easter, they can use this sacred time to focus on prayer, reflection, and growing in our personal relationship with God. So important." "At Easter Sunday, we will celebrate His glorious resurrection, He added.
As of early Saturday, there were more than 1.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world with 103,257 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the United States, the case count was 501,615 with 18,777 deaths.
As America "battles the invisible enemy," he continued, "we reaffirm that Americans believe in the power of prayer. We give thanks for the majesty of creation and for the gift of eternal life. And we place our trust in the hands of Almighty God."
In his prayer that followed Trump's Easter message at the White House, Bishop Jackson, senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland, thanked the President for including the churches in the relief efforts, the Christian Post reported.
"Many churches would've had to close down ... had it not been for your insightful leadership," the Bishop said.
"Lord, let the death angel pass over. Let there be a mitigation of this plague, this disease. Let medical science come forth," Jackson continued. "Lord, let us come out with a thriving economy. That silver and gold spoken of in that passage, let it be our portion."
He also prayed that "the spirit of division" in the nation will be broken. "Lord, let e pluribus unum be a reality in us. Let there be a uniting of America. Heal the divide between race, class, and gender."
On Easter Sunday, Trump, a Presbyterian Christian, attended virtual Easter service led by one of his friends and the top religious advisers of the president, Robert Jeffress as he announced earlier.
Pastor Jeffress said on Fox News on Easter Sunday morning, "Jesus Christ, the Son of God died for our sins, he arose from death and gave us eternal life," "We need to remember that we cannot deny the reality of suffering and death. The Bible never denies the reality of death. Death is horrible and painful but it is also temporal. The hope of resurrection leads us to live the dignity of life," He continued.
"People are stuck at home. They're going to hear the message they need to hear the most," he added.
"I really believe we're going to come out of this crisis and we are going to come out of it stronger and I think we'll be more benevolent towards those around us and I think we'll be reminded like never before of the brevity of life."
