President Obama has kept up with the tradition of hosting a National Prayer Breakfast by inviting guests from 130 nations and a collection of Congressmen and Senators.

One of the most distinctive guests was not in politics at all, however, as professional surfer Bethany Hamilton addressed the crowd at the Washington Hilton Thursday morning.

The 23-year-old, who survived a shark attack in 2003 where she lost her left arm, read two passages from the New Testament and talked about the inspiration she received to thrive in spite of her injury.

The non-denominational gathering focused on the issue religious freedom and the President discussed how important it is to diplomacy.

'No society can truly succeed unless it guarantees the rights of all its people, including religious minorities,' he said.

This is not the first time that he stressed that fact, noting that he made the same point to the leaders of China, Burma and Nigeria where such freedom is not guaranteed.

Obama says, quote, 'to harm anyone in the name of faith is to diminish our own relationship with God.'

'Our concern should not be whether God is on our side, but whether we are on God’s side,' he said.