During Jimmy Carter’s presidency from 1977 to 1981, he faced down challenges in the Middle East, Panama and the Soviet Union, as well the energy crisis here in the United States.
It’s all in Carter’s 2010 book, White House Diary, a fascinating collection of the thoughts, observations and candid discussions about his faith that he recorded during his years in office.
According to Carter, it was the Iranian hostage situation that tested him the most. “I prayed more during that year when the hostages were being held than I did any other time in my life,” said Carter in a phone interview during his book tour. “My prayer was that every hostage would come home safe and free while I protected the interests of my country.” Carter’s prayers weren’t answered as quickly as he’d hoped; the hostages were released on his last day in office.
Carter also relied on prayer during his negotiations at Camp David with Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat and Isreali Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He had so much faith in the power of prayer, in fact, that on the first day Carter proposed that the three lead a world-wide prayer for peace. Sadat agreed immediately, and Begin eventually agreed after the three collaborated on the prayer’s exact wording.
“I don’t doubt that millions of people in Israel, Egypt, in the Arab world and also in America prayed for peace,” says Carter. The Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty was finally signed in 1979.
Carter’s faith was so central to his life that, despite hectic presidential demands, he maintained spiritual practices that were important to him: teaching Sunday school and nightly Bible reading.
Carter began teaching Sunday school when he was just 18 and a midshipman at the Naval Academy—and he has taught ever since. As president, he taught Bible lessons at the Baptist church nearest the White House, though the days he would be there were never announced for security reasons.
In 1970, Carter and his wife Rosalynn began the habit of ending each day by reading from the Bible. They took turns each night reading aloud, and when they were in different cities they read the same passage. Beginning in 2000, the couple read in Spanish, just to practice the language.
Though his faith gave him strength, Carter also found inspiration in the regular folks he met thanks to the human rights-focused Carter Center he founded and his work with Habitat for Humanity.
“We see the bright side of things and the blessings that God gives so many people,” he said. “I would say the most impressive thing I’ve learned is how similar people are all over the world. A lot of times we tend to underestimate people who don’t have a decent home or don’t have a good education for their kids, who can’t provide for healthcare, or don’t have a regular job. But as we work side-by-side with these people, say, building a Habitat (for Humanity) house, always we find those poor families…are just as smart as I am, just as ambitious, just as hard-working, and their family values are just as good as mine…So we’ve learned a lot about how varied God’s blessings are and how worthy people are and how equal we are in the eyes of God.”
