South Africa's president asked the world to pray for his predecessor, Nelson Mandela, and to keep him in their thoughts. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports. 
 
 Former South African President Nelson Mandela is "responding positively" to treatment for a recurring lung infection after he was taken to a hospital late Wednesday, the presidency said on Thursday. 
 
 "The doctors advise that former President Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection," the presidency said in a statement. "He remains under treatment and observation in hospital." 
 
 In a statement, the current South African President Jacob Zuma said, “We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba [a nickname for Mandela] and his family and to keep them in their thoughts.” 
 
 “We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery,” he added. “The Presidency appeals once again for understanding and privacy in order to allow space to the doctors to do their work.” 
 
 Mandela, 94, was taken to a hospital just before midnight local time (6 p.m. ET). 
 
 The statement said that Mandela had the “best possible expert in medical treatment and comfort.” 
 
 Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner in the notorious Robben Island jail under the apartheid regime. 
 
 Slideshow: Nelson Mandela: A revolutionary's life / View images of civil rights leader Nelson Mandela, who went from anti-apartheid activist to prisoner to South Africa's first black president. Launch slideshow 
 
 'Be strong' 
 
 Jackson Mthembu, a spokesman for the African National Congress, said in a statement that the party once led by Mandela “calls on all South Africans and the world to keep Nelson Mandela in their prayers.” 
 
 “We are confident that the treatment will be successful as he is in professional and competent hands,” he said. 
 
 “During these trying times we wish President Mandela well and for his family to be strong," he added. 
 
 Mandela spent nearly three weeks in a hospital in December for treatment of a lung infection and gallstone surgery. 
 
 This was the longest time he had been hospitalized since being released from captivity as a political prisoner in 1990. 
 
 He was also hospitalized earlier this month for what was described as a "scheduled medical checkup." 
 
 Mandela was president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, the first president of the country to be elected following the fall of the apartheid system. 
 
 President Barack Obama sent his best wishes to the former leader on Thursday. 
 
 "He is as strong physically as he's been in character and in leadership over so many decades, and hopefully he will ... come out of this latest challenge," Obama told reporters at the White House. 
 
 "When you think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the first name that comes up is Nelson Mandela. And so we wish him all the very best," Obama said. 
 
 NBC News' Matthew DeLuca and Rohit Kachroo, and Reuters contributed to this report. 
 
 Related: 
 
 Secrecy over Mandela's health fuels concern for South Africa icon 
 
 'Who is my Mandela?' South Africans consider icon's place in a changing world 
 
 
 
 This story was originally published on ||||| Photo: enews channel 
 
 A recent image of former Presdent Nelson Mandela 
 
 South Africans prayed for Nelson Mandela's recovery on Sunday after the former president was admitted to hospital in the early hours of Saturday morning with the recurrence of a lung infection that has now seen him hospitalised four times since December. 
 
 "During the past few days former President Nelson Mandela has had a recurrence of lung infection," the Presidency said in a statement on Saturday. "This morning at about 1.30am his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a Pretoria hospital. He remains in a serious but stable condition." 
 
 Mandela was receiving expert medical care and his doctors were doing everything possible to make him better and comfortable, the Presidency said. 
 
 President Jacob Zuma, on behalf of the government and the nation, "wishes Madiba a speedy recovery and requests the media and the public to respect the privacy of Madiba and his family". 
 
 Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told the Sunday Times that Mandela's condition was serious. 
 
 "I questioned the doctors ... They said: 'Look, yes, he is able to breathe on his own. Be concerned, but don't be hysterical about it. Also don't tell the public that he is getting better [for now]'." 
 
 According to the newspaper, Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, cancelled a trip to London on Thursday to be close to Mandela. She had been due to address a Nutrition for Growth summit hosted by the governments of Brazil and the UK. 
 
 "My thoughts are with Nelson Mandela, who is in hospital in South Africa," British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted. 
 
 The US government also sent good wishes, according to news agency AFP, which quoted US National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden as saying: "Our thoughts and prayers are with [Mandela], his family and the people of South Africa as he recovers." 
 
 City Press, meanwhile, reported on Sunday that President Zuma, speaking to African National Congress (ANC) members in East London in the Eastern Cape on Saturday, had asked for prayers for Mandela. 
 
 "In your name, I want to give a message to Tata Madiba, who was admitted to hospital again this morning. He must get well please. Please, our president Madiba must make a speedy recovery. We must also pray for him as we are gathered here in the Eastern Cape," Zuma was quoted as saying. 
 
 Since the news broke on Saturday, the social networks have been abuzz with messages from South Africa and around the world wishing Mandela well. 
 
 Ned, from Manhattan, NY, tweeted: "Let us honour Mandela not by our tweets or words but rather by respecting and understanding everything that he stood for." 
 
 On Sunday morning, Maharaj told reporters that he was not expecting an update from Mandela's doctors before midday.
– Weeks after returning home from the hospital, Nelson Mandela was admitted again last night for a lung infection. South African president Jacob Zuma is calling on the world to offer its support to the 94-year-old icon, NBC News reports: "We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts," Zuma said. "We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery." Mandela, who CNN notes was conscious when admitted last night, was hospitalized for weeks in December with a lung infection and has battled respiratory problems for years.