Ben Carson touts greatness of God

Ben Carson

Ben Carson, who recently declared his candidacy for the White House, told a packed National Day of Prayer audience he learned at an early age that God was great, that He heard prayers and that He blessed individuals and nations steeped in humility.

"My mother was a prayer warrior, she believed God was the answer to any problem," Carson said, during his special guest appearance at the Thursday event on Capitol Hill.

And one problem she sought answers to was Carson's "terrible" grades and study habits. God's answer? Carson said he didn't like it, but had no choice but to abide.

"She made [my brother and me] turn off the TV and made us read two books a week and submit to her weekly book reports ... which she couldn't read but we didn't know that," he said, to audience laughter.

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He then described his mother as akin to the media-dubbed "Mom of the Year," the yellow-shirted woman shown in a video chasing and smacking her protesting son in the streets of Baltimore, as reported by WND.

"That was my mother, the Baltimore mom," Carson said.

He then spoke of the anger issues he had to overcome as a youth, as well as the subpar study habits that almost saw him flunk chemistry in college and lose out on his medical career.

He said he prayed to God: "Would you please tell me what it is you really want me to do? Or preferably, perform a miracle."

See what Ben Carson believes about the United States, in his bestseller, "America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great."

Carson then said God did perform a miracle – He gave him a dream that led to his acing of the chemistry test. And shortly after, Carson's medical career made the media world sit up and take notice, characterizing his surgical saves as miraculous.

"I did begin to understand early in life the incredible power of prayer and our connection to God and what a difference it's made throughout my medical career," Carson said, noting the public cheers he received for his medical work. "But not for one moment do I believe it was me. I said to God early in my career, 'you be the neurosurgeon and I'll be the hands.'"

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He said some who start their work in such humiility "get the big head and He has to move on to somebody else."

Carson reminded listeners of the power of Jesus, quoting the Bible: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." And he also reminded how the Founding Fathers believed in the power of prayer – and that our nation now needed to embrace those beginning roots once again.

"It is up to us who are the true believers now to stand up, to stand up to what we believe. to have the courage and the faith to get us through this difficult period," Carson said. "Part of the reason we're in this difficult period is because we're afraid to stand up ... and now the baton of freedom is in our hand. We have to make the decision: what are we willing to do to protect the future and our progeny?"

Carson, on "Fox & Friends" a few hours earlier, had stated similarly: "I told [the hosts] God is the source of all wisdom and the source of all knowledge and if one avails himself of that, then obviously they're going to be highly successful."

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