President Benigno Aquino 3rd prayed for the country and the entire Filipino people as he spoke of the “difficult burdens” of being in office.

The President joined people of different religious groups, including Christians, during the “2013 Care for Philippines Prayer Assembly at the Global Discipleship Congress in Pasig City Friday.

“Dear God, we admit we are not perfect. We ask for your wisdom as we endeavor to daily make your kingdom apparent in this world,” the President said. “We ask that you shield us from our enemies as we endeavor to do your work. Amen.”

Mr. Aquino’s speech was interrupted by a short bout of coughing, after which he told the crowd: “Excuse me, I’m reminded that Dr. Ona, our Secretary of Health, keeps on reminding me that I have to take a vacation. Perhaps, this is a God’s message to that ‘Yes you are entitled to. At least two days a year’.”

The President has been asked to stop smoking. But he said smoking relaxes him and he is not willing to give it up.

At one point in the speech, the President underscored the importance of prayer as he noted the need to seek God’s intervention to lead the country to achieve progress.

“If we are prepared to accept the good that people do to us, then it is but necessary or by definition also part of the equation, that evil has to come our way. And there is a lot of evil in this world. There are those who have chosen to be myopic, who will only focus on the negatives, and will never entertain the possibility of any positives. There are those who find-unfortunately-happiness in bringing everybody down instead of trying to lift everybody up,” he said.

“But through all of this, there has been one constant — and I agree prayer is indeed a very, very, very efficient weapon and a very, very efficient tool and really the source of our strength. When at the end of the day, it seems that the burdens seem insurmountable,” he added

The event gathered Filipinos and foreigners of different religious organizations to pray for the country and President Aquino and the country’s leaders.

The President was subsequently prayed over by intercessors led by Care for Philippines Movement (K4Phil) founder and president Bishop Jonel Milan and Christ Commission Fellowship (CCF) founder and president Dr. Peter Tan-Chi.

In partnership with the CCF, the K4Phil Movement organized the prayer assembly that was attended by delegates from various religious groups here and other countries.

The program included prayer intentions for President Aquino, the leaders of different government bureaucracies and departments, legislators, members of the judiciary, law enforcers, media organizations, non-government organizations, busines sector, teachers, parents and children and youth.