August 16, 2009
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Pr. 31:9
Our mistrust is like a cancer – it grows rapidly, saps our energy, and metastasizes in unpredictable ways. There are so many voices, so much information untethered to context, and so many predictions of doom that we look at each other with suspicion and freeze. Our hope that the common good can break through our political web slowly fades. Doubt creeps toward despair. Yet we are not alone. You, Lord, are always with us, and with you all things are possible. (Mt. 19:26). Let not our fear and suspicion turn us from wisdom. With confidence and compassion let us focus on your commands to rescue those in need (Ps. 82:3-4); to speak up, judge fairly, and defend the rights of the poor (Pr. 13:12); to have compassion on the sick and to care for each other (Mt. 25: 36-40; Dt: 15:11). Help us to reconcile our differences as we pursue our pledge of “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Encourage us, and guide us forward with your amazing grace, so that we might also say, in the words of the hymn, “through many trials, toils and snares, we have already come, ’twas grace that saw us through thus far and grace will see us home.”
Amen
Tags: country, healthcare, hope, politics, Prayer, USA, wisdom
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August 9, 2009
And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.” Ps 116:11
Lord, the concepts seemed so simple: reduce the costs that burden families and businesses large and small; preserve the patient’s choice of doctors while also providing a choice to those who would otherwise have none; and ensure that all have access to quality and affordable care. How did we move from broad agreement on improving our healthcare system to fears of euthanasia, shouting claques that prevent discussion and understanding, and a growing climate of distrust?
Let not our hope that change is possible give way to despair. Let not the complexity of detail and our distrust of the drafters destroy our focus on a more just and equitable system. Preserve our will to move forward. Protect us from those who see politics as a blood-sport, seeking a partisan kill. Help us to realize that “tyranny” may come in the form of those who, in order to preserve their own entrenched power, would exploit our fears and anger, — those who resist the restraint and accountability that government oversight can provide. Strengthen those who would lead us forward. Let them free themselves from the chains of party power, media sarcasm, and fear of failure. Give us compassion, strength to forgive, and the courage to reach out in healing to those with whom we disagree.
Help us to be patient in our hope, O Lord. Hear our cry and lift us “out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire”, set our feet on the rock of your promises, and guide us as we journey forward. Ps. 40:1-2
Amen
Tags: country, healthcare, hope, Obama, politics, Prayer, USA
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August 2, 2009
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
Thank you Lord for our President’s willingness to start new conversations, to focus forward, to seek dialogue on principles rather than pushing positions, and to attempt to change the patterns of partisan bickering. Help us to elect and to listen to others who are the type of leader identified by the apostle Paul — temperate, self-controlled, hospitable, able to teach, gentle and not quarrelsome, sincere and worthy of respect (1 Timothy 3:2-3, 8). Let us not be misled by hateful words, threats, jibes, or appeals to fear. Instead, help us to rid ourselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind (1 Peter 2:1); to learn not to repay evil with evil, or insult with insult, but to live in harmony with each other (1 Peter 3:8-9). Let us uphold your call of justice to the poor, and acknowledge the cause of the needy, and through honest and sincere dialogue, find the way forward to a more perfect union.
Amen
Tags: country, dialogue, Obama, politics, Prayer, USA, wisdom, words
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July 26, 2009
“You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.” Ps. 52:3
“So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.” Is. 59:14-15
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor for we are all members of one body.” Eph. 4:25
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
We review the life of Walter Cronkite with words like “honest”,”truthful”, and “integrity”, and we mourn for the loss of voices we can trust. As news and entertainment media have merged, we focus more on reports of the personal and petty than on understanding and working through the larger issues of our day. The difficulty of those issues is minimized, and understanding undermined, as efforts are made to assign “winners” and “losers” within each 24 hour news cycle. Words that serve more to inflame than to inform are repeated over and over. Isolated “facts” and “statistics” devoid of context are cited with breathless speculation of potential adverse consequences. The constant stream of information confuses and overwhelms. Efforts to address inequalities and injustice are slowed or stalled.
Strengthen us O Lord to seek your truth. Help us to speak truthfully to one another, moving beyond a war of data and slogans to an authentic sharing of experience, values, and knowledge. Help us to listen to one another with respect and care. And keep us focused on the great needs before us.
Redeem us O Lord, God of Truth (Ps. 31:5), and help us to find a better path.
Amen
Tags: country, dishonesty, honesty, media, politics, Prayer, truth, USA, wisdom
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July 19, 2009
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. Proverbs 11:2-3
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18
Pride only brings quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Proverbs 13:10
Lord, thank you for leaders with the courage to speak honestly and with humility on hard issues. Thank you for leaders who have the courage to listen, who understand that politics is not a game to win or lose, but a process where engagement of the governed provides the best opportunities for long term success. Thank you for inspector generals and others who do the work of government with integrity and who dispassionately share the information we need to hold those who would ignore the law accountable. Thank you for those leaders who use words to encourage, inform, and guide and who do not seek to simply manipulate and mislead. Thank you for leaders who emphasize that what we have in common is greater than that which divides. Thank you for leaders who patiently withstand personal attacks and persevere, keeping the end in mind. Lord please uphold those of our leaders who are courageous and wise, and help them help us.
Amen
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July 12, 2009
Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods! Jer. 16:20
Lord, forgive us our appetite for distraction and diversion. Forgive our fascination with celebrities and our envy of the self-indulgent. Help us to see that the ephemeral cannot sustain or guide us. Do not let our love of entertainment nor our attachment to sentimentality displace the careful thought and sustained work that is needed to heal our country. Help us to seek lives of meaning and purpose, to invest our wealth in building up our communities, and to share our gifts in ways that bring us closer to you. Guide us toward wisdom O Lord.
Amen.
Tags: country, entertainment, false gods, politics, Prayer, USA, wisdom
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July 5, 2009
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’ ” Zechariah 7:9-10
Lord, we are a land of many cultures and faiths. We are a nation that provided hope and opportunity to many generations of immigrants. Indeed, we are a nation in which over 40% of the population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island where the Statue of Liberty, the “mother of exiles,” still lifts her lamp and stands over the invitation: “Give me your tired, your poor,/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. . .” As we struggle with our economy and mature as a country, let us not forget our ideals of hope and freedom and opportunity. Help us avoid oppression of the alien and the poor and those who struggle to survive, and to encourage mercy and justice at home and abroad. Help us to reflect your love in actions and not just in words. In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
Tags: alien, country, immigrants, immigration, oppression, Prayer, USA, welcome
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June 28, 2009
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him. 1 John 2:9-11
Lord, we look to Iran and see that people who we feared and disparaged have more in common with our own hopes and dreams than we once thought possible. As we observe their struggle, help us to examine our willingness to label others, to judge without understanding, to fear those who are different, and to separate our world into “us” and “them”.
Hate isolates us from others, helping us to ignore those in need. Hate feeds our anger and fear, enabling others to manipulate our emotions and actions. We fail to look within and hold ourselves accountable, preferring to shift blame “to those people”– democrat or republican, young or old, rich or poor, immigrant or foreigner, white or black — who are our current target.
Help us Lord to move past hate. Help us to see those in need and respond with compassion and empathy. Whether talking to neighbors or listening to political leaders or media reports, help us to challenge the simple solutions, personalized attacks, accusations, and catch-phrases, that only serve to inflame and mislead rather than inform. Help us to reach out to one another in respect and in love. Help us each to take on the responsibility of working to build a country, and a world, that better reflects your grace.
Help us O Lord.
Amen
Tags: country, hate, politics, Prayer, USA, wisdom
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June 21, 2009
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. . . . Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:3, 7-9.
Lord, throughout our country and in the media there are those who, with insolent self righteousness, do not hesitate to attack the virtues, values, and sincerity of others. We scoff at efforts to reach out to others, dismiss empathetic expressions as weakness, and question those who would be honest about our history. As we watch the struggles of others for freedom we seek to condemn and control, looking for domestic political advantage. We challenge new approaches and policies as too little, not enough, or as destined to fail yet do not offer alternatives. Mocking others has become a form of entertainment.
Our cynicism keeps us from hope, from looking for and finding the path you would have us follow. As one pundit observed, “Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It’s unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don’t have to try.” (Peggy Noonan). Lord give us the courage to try. Help us to recognize you in acts of kindness, forgiveness, patience and love. Like King David, help us to admit our weakness before both you and others, and seek your help. Strengthen us to do the work you have put before us and teach us to care for each other. Help us to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Ro. 12:12
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen
Tags: country, cynicism, politics, Prayer, USA, wisdom
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June 14, 2009
Do not call conspiracy everything these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. Is. 8:12
Lord, in our fast and noisy world it can be hard to discern which way to go. Many of the loudest voices feed our fears. We fear enemies both real and imagined. We fear change. We fear a future we can neither predict nor control. To calm our fears we demand immediate and simplistic fixes, forgoing the effort to understand the complex realities before us. We turn away from wisdom. Full of fear, we close our doors and fail to reach out to help others in our communities. We turn away from love. Fearing what we cannot understand, we focus on the close reality of our possessions. We fail to hear your call; we fail to seek your presence.
Yet you O Lord are with us always, ready to strengthen us and help us. (Is. 41:10) Help us to move away from our fears and hear your voice. Let us learn to say with the psalmist, “I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Ps. 34:4 Help us to try new directions, to face our fears and speak against the voices that would mislead us. Help us to trust in you, and guide us O Lord.
Amen
Tags: country, fear, politics, Prayer, USA, wisdom
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Prayers For Our Country 