In 1930, Harry Emerson Fosdick, a minister who in 1931 would work with John D. Rockefeller Jr. to establish The Riverside Church, a nonsectarian Protestant church in New York City, wrote the words of the well known hymn “God of Grace and God of Glory.” The second verse of this hymn ends with the theme of this week’s prayer: “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days, for the living of these days.”
God of Grace and God of Glory, grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days.
Grant us the courage to confront our fears, ask questions, consider new ideas, change habits, and reach out to those who are different from us. Help us to move in the direction of hope and community, generosity and love.
Grant us your wisdom. Help us to learn from past mistakes. Help us avoid the confusion of fragmented data, sound-bites, and partisan attacks, and help us discern the paths that would move us forward as one country, one nation, with liberty and justice for all.
In the words of the psalmist (Ps. 25, v. 4-5), show us your ways O Lord, teach us your paths, guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are God our Savior, and our hope is in you all day long.
Amen.
Prayers For Our Country 
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