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Trump attends Sunday service at the International Church of Las Vegas in hopes of gaining religious support on October 30, 2016.

By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

On Tuesday, an indelible image began circulating on Twitter: a prayer circle in the Oval Office, with a tight close-up on the presidents shoulders (and unmistakable helmet of hair), ringed by religious leaders laying hands on his back. Vice President Mike Pence, whose evangelical roots are well-known, is just about the only person recognizable in the image. But how did Donald Trump, who once referred to communion as my little wine and my little cracker, wind up here?

This isnt the first time Trump has participated in public prayer as presidentafter he announced the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on January 31, he tweeted a photo of a prayer with Mike and Karen Pence, his sons, and other leaders, including the late Justice Antonin Scalias wife and son.

The latest image wasnt shared by the president, but by Evangelical pastor Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne, who wrote that he and his wife, Dr. Adonica Howard-Browne, were asked to the White House to pray over the president.

Yesterday was very surreal for @ahowardbrowne & I. 30 years ago we came from South Africa to America as missionaries. Yesterday I was asked by Pastor Paula White-Cain to pray over our 45th Presidentwhat a humbling moment standing in the Oval OfficeLaying hands and praying for our PresidentSupernatural Wisdom, Guidance and Protectionwho could ever even imaginewowwe are going to see another great spiritual awakening.

The Howard-Brownes, who have a weekly broadcast on Dish channel 269, first began as missionaries in South Africa before taking their work to America in the late 1980s. Rodney heads Revival Ministries International, for which the Howard-Brownes travel around the United States 46 weeks of the year, according to the organizations Web site.

In March 2016, Rodney wrote a Facebook post titled Donald Trump Is the New World Orders Worst Nightmare, on singaporechristian.com, where he detailed his choice to back Trump in the election as a check against a global conspiracy to destroy America:

Trump does not censor his wordslike politicians dohe says what he thinkswhich appeals to people. I am not saying I agree with everything he has said, or that he knows everything he is signing up for, but I do believe that he will put knowledgeable people around him who share the same values as we patriotic Americans do.

Now that Trump occupies the White House, the Howard-Brownes are clearly remaining in his corner. The evangelical duo was invited to the White House by Paula White-Cain, a Pentecostal Christian televangelist who serves as a spiritual adviser to the president. As NBC News noted at the time of Trumps inauguration, Whites relationship with Trump first began when he cold-called her afterwhat else?seeing her on TV. White, who was one of several people to pray over the president before his swearing-in, spoke to NBC News about the presidents relationship with religion; she used language familiar to evangelical Christians, and maybe less familiar for Trump, whose own church claimed he was not an active member.

As the Los Angeles Times noted in April, Trumps relationship with religion has been a fairly unclear one. As he wooed the religious right during his campaign, he struggled to answer even the most basic questions about his faith, naming Second Corinthians as Two Corinthians and failing to come up with a favorite Bible verse. But Trumps brand of Christian faithcriticized by someseems to be one that televangelists accept.

I know that Donald is saved, White told NBC News. Hes absolutelyreceived Jesus Christ as his lord and savior . . . I understand on a much more personal level his walk . . . He doesnt know our Christian-ese or language . . . But that doesn't mean he's not a man of faith.

However untraditional Trumps show of faith might be, hes just the latest in a line of Christian presidents. Former president Barack Obama, no matter what Trump himself might have argued, organized occasional, private prayer circles and received advice from prominent spiritual leaders [each year on his birthday].

Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush prayed with other religious and political leaders, images of which can be found on the Web site for the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. And Bill Clinton regularly attended church services as president.

This Oval Office prayer circle is likely not the last to occur during the Trump administration era. When Trump began campaigning for president in 2015, a video emerged, which featured televangelist Robert Jeffress and others praying over the then-presidential hopeful.

As Politico noted thenand as is no doubt true today, the TV president has found his kind of Christians.

Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.

Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.

Losing to wind while hes in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.

Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.

Losing to wind while waving.

Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.

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Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.

By Michael McGurk/Alamy.

Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

By Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.

By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind while hes in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.

By Danny Lawson/PA/A.P.

Losing to wind while he talks to Patriots owner Robert Kraft before a game.

From Splash News.

Losing to wind at the house on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, where his mother was born before she immigrated to the United States in 1929.

From PA/Alamy.

Losing to wind while boarding the Marine One helicopter at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

By Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.

Losing to wind while leaving One World Trade in New York.

By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.

From Boston Herald/Splash News.

Losing to wind while waving.

By Rob Carr/Getty Images.

Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.

By Michael McGurk/Rex/Shutterstock.

Read more:
Donald Trump's Oval Office Prayer Circle, Explained - Vanity Fair