The first thing I was telling people when I got home from the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast was, “It really should be called the ‘International Prayer Breakfast,’ not the ‘National Prayer Breakfast!’” And it was true. Over 100 countries were represented from around the world, and the odds of you turning and meeting someone from anywhere else but the United States was extremely high. What a beautiful picture – seeing different tribes and tongues coming together to simply proclaim the name of Jesus with one unified voice. It truly was a glimpse of heaven on this side of eternity. Everyone was coming with such a unique story and it oftentimes was overwhelming. It has become so easy (especially in the western world) to live an individualistic lifestyle and solely focus on our own lives, what we do, and what we can see. But God is so much bigger than your own little life, your own hometown, your own country, and bigger than this world that he so graciously lets us live in. He is the same God here as he is to the little girl fighting for her life in the Ukraine. The National Prayer Breakfast allowed me to shrink back and see the bigger picture, one that is much bigger than all of us. 
I had the privilege of rooming with a 50-something-year-old woman from the Ukraine, who shared with me parts of her story in ministry and in life. There were only a few times that we actually left our room together since we had different schedules, but both times that we did, she stopped me and asked if we could pray before we went anywhere. I was purely humbled by her in those moments. A woman with plenty of life experience in ministry and in the world itself, and yet it seemed that all that experience made her realize even more how much she needed God. Oftentimes, it seems to be much of our mindsets (and I’ll be the first to admit it!) that if we can just grow enough, learn enough, become wise and knowledgeable enough, that our dependence on God will somehow decrease. But as this woman showed me, in reality, the more we grow, learn, and increase in our knowledge and wisdom, the more we will discover that our need for God is that much greater than what we could have ever imagined or comprehended. And this continued to be on display with our world leaders throughout the week of the breakfast. Speaker after speaker, leader after leader, declaring their need for God and the necessity of prayer.
As we were traveling home from our week in D.C., I began to reflect on the “not so pretty parts” of the week. Personalities that clashed, programs that didn’t quite go as planned, things that were said that shouldn’t have been, issues with registration, and so on. Sin was not absent! But, I continue to be amazed at the goodness of God through our utter failure, even when we try our hardest to be holy people. It was truly incredible to see God speak to all of us in different ways, using some of the same speakers, sessions, and encounters. God is never far off or absent and somehow orchestrates everything together for His glory, despite the sin that is ever before us.
It truly was an incredible time with the people of God.