The Spiritual Journey of George Washington

by Janice T. Connell

Most Americans know George Washington as the father of our country, a dedicated patriot, brilliant general and gifted leader who guided our fledgling nation through bitter revolution and became our first president. He was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. What most people don’t know is that Washington was a deeply spiritual man.

A devout Christian, Washington’s religious beliefs influenced his life as a young surveyor on the dangerous frontier through his heroics as a militia leader in the French and Indian War to the dark days of Valley Forge and the triumph of the presidency. He was held in the highest regard by his fellow citizens and history has canonized him as the most esteemed of the Founding Fathers. At the root of that esteem was his spirituality.

In The Spiritual Journey of George Washington , bestselling author Janice T. Connell examines the spiritual life of our first president. She takes us on a journey from his boyhood scarred by the early death of his father to the pinnacle of the presidency.

Washington was no stranger to sorrow, cold, hunger, persecution, violence, or terrorism. His great accomplishment was to face misfortune and conquer it. He achieved his victory by discipline, commitment, prayer, and the graced ability to bend his will under the yoke of Divine Providence.

Featuring the full text of Washington’s private prayers (some possibly composed by Washington himself), The Spiritual Journey of George Washington shines a light on the previously unrecognized faith of our Founding Father, illuminating his personal religious convictions and explaining how they guided his public acts of heroism and his philosophy of governance.

In this modern world, wracked by wars, terrorism, disease, starvation, immorality, and tyranny, George Washington has much to teach us. His accomplishments and writing disclose that Providence was in him, around him, and always with him, as It must be with us.

Genres: History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2003

About the author

Janice T. Connell is an attorney and recognized authority on the subject of Marian apparitions. She is the author of ten books, an international speaker and frequent radio and television commentator.

Reviews

[Katieb (MundieMoms) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This is an amazing book. I love reading about America's history and about our founding fathers. Our founding forefathers are amazing men! Wow, wow, wow! George Washington is definintely a man of God. It's too bad we don't have men in our Country's current leadership who like him!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't long, but it was hard to get through. The author gushed about Washington and told the reader all sorts of things that Washington thought about God, without adequately backing up those claims.
Some good information and a noble idea, but not the strong history I was hoping for.

[Barbara Osten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the 4th of July weekend, I came across this book and was drawn to the artwork on the cover of Washington kneeling in prayer in the snow below his horse. Although I found the book disjointed in parts, it has the right amount of history, biography, and religion combined to show how faith was such a big part of his life. The part that touched me the most was his prayer book, handwritten and carried with him everywhere. It starts with the Sunday morning prayer and then the Sunday evening prayer, and continues through the week up until Thursday. Overall, a fascinating read.

[Dr. Steve Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convicting

Washington's faith gave him strength to be a wise and humble leader. He led the country for many yeas grounded with confidence produced by prayers. He articulated the duty of all people in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789. “...[I]t is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learned much about our first President & founding fathers faith & daily walk & prayer life. He is absolutely a role model of faith, character, morals, temperament, etc. as well as an inspiration.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author does a great job of making sure that the reader knows that George Washington was an amazing man and founding father, deeply spiritual, devout, courageous, and placed his trust in God. She does this on the first page and then proceeds to reiterate it in every paragraph throughout the rest of the book. It is an adequate biography, although as a reader I got the sense that Washington never once did anything wrong or had a moment of doubt. I find this hard to believe as a military officer, a person, and a Christian. The author provides enough evidence of Washington's strong character that she does not need to continue to stress how great of a person he was. His actions speak much louder than her words, which start to ring hollow. There were definitely some aspects of the book that were interesting, however the repetitive nature of the chapters and the author's enamored perspective made it frustrating to read.

[Hope Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I’m not one to typically enjoy history but I’ve found myself needing to stop saying that since reading Freedom is Costly but Priceless (written by Dave Meyer) and have since read a couple of historical related books including this one. Finding out how devout so many of our founding fathers were lead me to want to read more about them! So I thought I’d start with Washington whom I share a birthday! This was exactly what the cover suggests and as I hoped I was encouraged to hear how faithful Washington was in following God. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about his relationship with Martha and his overall humility.
Any book I’d read a second time I give 5 stars and I’d read this one again even just for Washington’s prayers.

[Gunnar Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washington dedicated his life to carrying out the will of God. He credits the revolutionary victory and the founding of the nation to “kind Providence”, proof of his humility and belief in the will and sovereignty of his God. The book includes his daily prayer journal and eye witness accounts from his soldiers’ journals of him praying before battle and through adversity. My favorite entry from his prayer journal:

“O eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words, and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit… daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life.”

- George Washington

[Phil Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, but didn't scratch my itch for a Washington biography.

As implied by the title, most of this book focuses on the spiritual aspects of Washington's life, and how his faith impacted his decisions and thus the founding of this Nation.

Sadly, the most interesting part of this book (to me), it seems, is false. "Washington's Vision" appears to be a fabrication from the 1860s: https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/..., https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/geo...

[James M. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great brief history

Great brief history. I had not heard of the vision he had at valley forge. Great reproduction of his prayers. Explained his version of separation of church and state.

[Rhonda Habisreitinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! It really showed how devout a Christian our first president was. He truly was a spiritual man and I would have loved to have known him. This should be a first read for all fellow presidents before they start their terms! Also a must read for any and all.

[Mdole72 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zero stars. Ignore that one start. ZERO stars.

[Michael Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt there were many assumptions, but she relied on many documents to seek to understand his faith. Some interesting thoughts and quotes. Writing seemed somewhat disjointed.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I really liked this book. It seemed at times thought that the author just reiterated points about Washington's life or personality that she had just made so sometimes I felt impatient trying to get to something new.
Something I learned that I had never known before was that during the battle of Valley Forge in 1777, Washington had a vision of events to transpire in this country. Very good read!

[Robyn91856 · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Washington is truly one of the most amazing men, and a hero of mine. I picked this book up in Mount Vernon a couple of years ago, and thought that this Sunday afternoon was a good time to sit down and read it. He was a man who really believed that Providence guided him and this country to become what it did. I love reading about him, and this book really focused on his spiritual side, which was a big part of him. There were parts which were a bit repititive, but good information.

[David F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak scholarship and not very interesting writing style. Much is made of secondary sources and family lore but little real evidence is offered to counter the substantial amounts of actual historical evidence that has led other writers to reach very different conclusions.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a closer look at the life of George Washington and you will see that he was a very spiritual man. He always made sure he was right with God.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a well written biography. Learned a lot of how intricately woven religion was with President Washington's life.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I had no idea George Washington was such a spiritual leader or even of all the supernatural occurrences from his battle days.