From that day a new life begins for him—the life of a devoted Christian. "I have been driven many times to my knees," he later wrote, "because I had nowhere else to go."
Again he declared:
I would be the veriest blockhead if I thought I could get through with a single day's business without relying upon Him who doeth all things well.
This spirit shows constantly throughout all his duties. To a Missouri delegation he said:
I desire to so conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the very end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every friend on earth, I shall have at least one friend left—my conscience.
When a minister, representing a visiting delegation, said to him that he hoped the Lord was on their side, Mr. Lincoln replied:
I am more concerned to know whether we are on the Lord's side.
Constantly he sought for the sympathy, and the prayers, and the help of all Christian people. A minister from a little village in central New York State called to tell him that every Christian father and mother was praying for him every day. The tears filled Lincoln's eyes as he thanked his visitor and said:
But for these prayers I should have faltered and perhaps failed long ago. Tell every father and mother you know to keep on praying and I will keep on fighting.
