Ronald Reagan's faith

There's a great story on the Stand to Reason blog this morning, talking about a new book called "God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life." Here's the relevant blog passage from Melinda Penner, from a talk that author Paul Kengor gave this week at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

Paul relayed a story that Reagan's daughter Patti has told when she asked Reagan what he prayed whenever he flew in a plane. She knew he was afraid of flying and presumed he asked God to deliver the plane to a safe landing. No, he said, he was asking God to give him the grace in the event of an emergency to . . . trust his life and those he loved into God's hands. He was praying to be the kind of person God would have him be. Reagan believed the circumstances of his life were God's business and he's accept what came. He exemplified that over and over at difficult times in his life, even when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

I know the left is hugely threatened by the Christian faith of an American president, but it gives me comfort to know such a man was (and, I believe, is) in the Oval Office. My goal is to learn how to, as Kengor said, pray "to be the kind of person God would have (me) be."