In a quiet but deeply symbolic gathering on Wednesday morning, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth led a Christian prayer session at the Pentagon’s auditorium — an event that may become a regular fixture under his leadership. The “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service,” as it was titled, lasted about 30 minutes and drew a standing-room-only crowd, including military leaders and staff.

The event opened with Hegseth offering a solemn prayer, grounded in humility and seeking wisdom and moral clarity for those serving in the nation’s defense. “King Jesus, we come humbly before you, seeking your face, seeking your grace, in humble obedience to your law and to your word,” he prayed, as attendees bowed their heads.

“We come as sinners saved only by that grace,” he continued, “seeking your providence in our lives and in our nation.” The prayer concluded with a heartfelt invocation for courage and discernment, ending in unison with the crowd responding, “Amen.”

Brooks Potteiger, Hegseth’s pastor and keynote speaker at the event, took the moment further by offering a message centered on divine purpose and national direction. Potteiger, who leads a congregation in Tennessee, emphasized faith and leadership, and offered a controversial but fervent belief that former President Donald Trump had been appointed with a spiritual mandate to bring what he described as “moral clarity” to the country.

“We pray for our leaders who you have sovereignly appointed — for President Trump,” Potteiger said, “thank you for the way that you have used him to bring stability and moral clarity to our land.”

The atmosphere in the room was one of unified reverence, where faith and duty intertwined in a moment of reflection. For Hegseth, this prayer session signals a broader effort to bring spiritual grounding into the heart of American defense leadership, with similar gatherings planned each month.

Later that day, attention turned from prayer to policy as President Trump and Hegseth introduced an ambitious national defense initiative that carries both technological vision and echoes of past aspirations. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump unveiled preliminary plans for a comprehensive missile defense system — dubbed the “Golden Dome.”

Inspired by former President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, the new system is envisioned as a sweeping, multilayered shield against a range of modern threats. “We will truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago,” Trump said. “The success rate is very close to 100%, which is incredible when you think of it. You’re shooting bullets out of the air.”

This “Golden Dome” would use a mix of land-, sea-, and space-based technologies, including cutting-edge sensors and interceptors. The goal, Trump explained, is to protect the U.S. homeland from all forms of missile attacks — including hypersonic and space-launched threats — within a three-year window.

Once operational, the dome is expected to offer near-total coverage and interception capabilities, even against long-range or orbital launches. “It’s a pretty evil world out there,” Trump said. “So this is something that goes a long way toward the survival of this great country.”

Hegseth, standing alongside the president, praised the initiative. “Mr. President, add this to the long and growing list of promises made and promises kept,” he said. “Ultimately, this right here, the Golden Dome for America, is a game-changer.”

Drawing connections between the space-based defensive ambitions and Trump’s establishment of the U.S. Space Force, Hegseth underscored how previous administrations dismissed such moves. “When others said we didn’t need it, you saw the future,” he said. “Now we’re protecting the homeland in every possible dimension — air, land, sea, and space.”

He concluded with a nod to recent efforts to improve national security on multiple fronts, referencing the administration’s renewed focus on border control and military modernization.

While both the morning’s prayer and the afternoon’s policy announcement may generate debate, the message from Hegseth’s Pentagon was clear: faith, national defense, and future technology are being brought together under a renewed mission. Whether through spiritual gatherings or ambitious defense systems, there is a movement underway — one that blends conviction with vision, and tradition with innovation.