President Bush and his mother, Barbara Bush share a special moment during a recent appearance. It's pretty neat to have a president who has a great relationship with his mom, don't you think? Photo courtesy of the White House.

1. Pray for President Bush and all those on his team who work to keep our country safe by gathering "intelligence." Do you know what "intelligence" is? It's not just having a good brain or being smart. When we talk about intelligence in this way, we are talking about information concerning an enemy or possible enemy, or another country. It's sad to think about, but our country does have enemies, and many dedicated people serve our government by keeping up with the latest information about our enemies and any plans they are making. So pray for the President as he works to make sure that everyone and everything (lots of technology is involved!) is working well to keep America safe.
2. Pray for President Bush as he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice work on bringing peace to the Middle East. They have a great opportunity to help make history as they work with other leaders, so pray that God will guide and help them as they work for peaceful solutions. Pray that peace will come to this part of the world in just the way that God wants!
3. The members of Congress are getting a break! They leave Washington this week for their summer recess, so it is a great time to pray for them—that whether they are having vacation, visiting with the people they represent or spending time with their family and friends, that they will be refreshed and renewed by God. Pray also that as they rest they will take time to be with God, to grow in Him and to learn more about Him.
4. Pray for the White House—yes, the actual building that the world sees as the seat of our government (along with the Capitol, of course!). Because so many people come and go there and because it is the place where our President and First Lady spend so much of their time, we can pray for the White House to be a place that is filled with God's Spirit, where people sense the love and goodness of God and where those who live and work there are always protected by God. Pray also for the meetings and events and relationships that take place there, that each one will be honoring to God in every way.
5. Pray for our troops—those who are in Iraq and Afghanistan and those who are working around the world. They serve our country and safeguard our freedom with the things—both large and small—they do every day!

Since we're praying for the President as he works to improve intelligence gathering in our country, we can pray for some of the key leaders of the intelligence efforts in our country.

Secretary of Homeland Security— Michael Chertoff

Michael Chertoff is a great person to have leading our country's Department of Homeland Security! He has been an investigator for much of his professional life, having worked as a U.S. Appeals Court Judge and as a U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. He has also served in the Department of Justice, and in the days following the September 11 attacks, he investigated all the details about the attacks to learn who planned and carried them out. He did a great job with the investigation, and was the one who linked them to al-Qaeda.

As Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Chertoff is responsible for many key areas of security in our country—a country that is still at war! With his team, he works to protect America by reducing our vulnerability to future attack, weapons of mass destruction and cyber terrorism. He must also coordinate everything he and his team do with efforts of all the other agencies and departments concerned with America's security, from local police to all the other federal agencies. That is a big job!

Homeland Security oversees the Coast Guard, the Inspector General, FEMA, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration, the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service.

Head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation— Robert S. Mueller, III

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a rich history of protecting Americans and fighting crime—all the way back to 1908! Created by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte and President Theodore Roosevelt, earliest investigations concerned corruption and crime of all kinds. Since the first 34 investigators were hired, the agency has become one of the largest in the world with a force of 28,000 employees.

The first priority of the FBI is to defend Americans from terror attacks and foreign intelligence threats as well as fighting corruption, organized crime, white-collar crime and all major acts of violent crime. That's a lot of things to take care of, but they also investigate crimes as well! The FBI has jurisdiction over 200 categories of federal law! In fact, the FBI is home to the largest database of fingerprints in our country, used extensively in criminal investigation and identification. They receive more than 37,000 sets of fingerprints every day, seven days a week.

Robert Mueller is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran. After military service, Director Mueller earned his law degree and began practicing law, but was soon tapped to be Attorney General first in San Francisco, and later in Boston. He was appointed Assistant Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush and had a rich history of public service mingled with the private practice of law. He was appointed Director of the FBI on September 4, 2001, just days before the 9/11 terror attacks. In the ensuing years, he has overseen the perhaps the largest reorganization ever of the Bureau.

Robert Mueller received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and his Masters in International Studies from New York University. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1973, where he served on the Law Review. He is married and with his wife, Ann, has two children.

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
—Colossians 4:2

Keep on praying.
—I Thessalonians 5:17

This was a great week for kids at the White House! Lots of kids came to the White House for all different kinds of reasons. Have you ever been to the White House? What did you like about it? Did it seem special to you? How would you feel if you were one of these kids who was invited to the White House? What would you say to President Bush or Mrs. Bush if you had the opportunity to talk with them?

Here are some photos to tell you about these fortunate kids.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

Can you find President Bush in this photo? He is in the center of the photo shaking hands with kids. The kids are the 2005 Boys and Girls Nation Senators. Boys and Girls Nation is a special program administered by the American Legion. Four outstanding high school graduates—two boys and two girls—are chosen from each state (except Hawaii and Louisiana). They get to visit Washington D.C. to learn more about the federal government. And this year, their trip included a trip to the White House and some high-fives with President Bush in the East Room!

Photo courtesy of the White House.

This photo shows President Bush and Houston Astros Pitcher Andy Pettitte along with many other of the special guests invited for an afternoon of Tee Ball on the White House South Lawn. This week's version of White House Tee Ball included two teams from the Challenger League—kids who are mentally or physically disabled. Since this week marked the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act, it was a great time to celebrate a program that enables kids to play a great American sport. Each kid has a buddy who helps them on the field and at bat.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

This Challenger player heads for home plate during the White House Tee Ball on the South Lawn. He is from the West University Little League Challengers from Houston, TX.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

This little girl, from the West University Little League Challengers, came all the way to Washington from Houston, Texas! She’s thinking hard as she gets ready to hit the ball.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

President Bush poses for a photo with Navy Anderson, the 2005 March of Dimes National Ambassador as they met in the Oval Office, Wednesday, July 27. Navy, age 7, and her family are in Washington to attend the March of Dimes National Youth Conference.

Photo courtesy of the White House.

President Bush meets in the State Dining Room with the state presidents of Future Farmers of America, a group that promotes careers in agriculture. Founded in 1928, the National FFA helps middle and high school students prepare for leadership, personal growth and successful careers through agricultural education, hands-on work experience and scholarship opportunities.

It's neat that we're talking about intelligence this week by praying for agencies like the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., because it doesn't just apply to people working to keep our country safe—it's important to people who pray, too! Kids like you!

Have you ever told someone you'd pray for them and then realized you aren't sure just how to pray for them? It could be you're a little short on "intelligence?" If you want to do a good job praying, you probably give them a call and try to talk with them again to learn a little more about how to pray. Then your prayers can be most effective, and that's good.

In the same way, you want to gather all the information you can when you pray for the President and our country. That's why we've created the PPT Kids website—so that every week you can gather your intelligence—the information you need—to pray effectively for the President. We also give you information that we hope inspires you to pray, like stories about America's godly heritage and leaders who aren't afraid to speak up for their Christian beliefs.

Each week we include special prayer requests for the President based on the things going on around him—from the White House to the world! In addition, here are some helpful things to know about the presidency in general and President Bush, specifically. When you think these over, it should help you pray even more "intelligently!"

The Presidency

When our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they worked hard to avoid a political system similar to what they had known in Britain. They didn't want an all-powerful ruler who was in charge of everything. Nor did they want the whole government to be run by one governing body. So they came up with the checks and balances of our three-part government. Can you remember the three branches of our federal government? The legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch.

The President of the United States is in charge of the Executive Branch of the government. He has the following responsibilities/rights:

• Has a staff of more than 1,500 serving the executive branch.
• Lives and works in the White House.
• Is Commander-in-Chief of our military forces.
• Makes treaties with other countries, with 2/3 Senate approval.
• Appoints ambassadors, Supreme Court justices and other officials.
• Addresses Congress every year on the state of the union.
• Appoints and works with his cabinet—the heads of the 15 key departments of our government.
• Can veto laws that have been approved by Congress and must give his reasons.
• Signs into law those laws approved by Congress.
• Appoints federal court judges and the U.S. district attorneys in every district of the country.
• Acts as the nation's chief diplomat. He receives diplomatic representatives, ambassadors, and ministers from foreign countries, and sometimes attends special international conferences.
• Leads his political party.

Who does the President answer to? Because he is elected by the people of the United States, the President answers to the will of the people. But you and I both know that he ultimately answers to God in Heaven, because God gave him his authority and is in charge of all the leaders of the world!