July 4, 2021
On this 4th of July Lord help us pause and see how much we have to lose if we lose our democracy.
Move us away from the resentments, and divisions that enable the slow creep of autocracy.
May we recognize how much we use our shared freedoms of thought, expression, and association, and the vibrancy those lend to our communities.
Help us protect these for both ourselves and others, slowing the corrosive attacks on views that differ from our own, and challenging appeals to hate and fear.
For the growth of tyranny in its many forms will eventually threaten even those of us who enjoy quiet neighborhoods, regular schedules, good food, and adequate pay.
Without change, even we will some day awake and look at the wreckage and wonder, how did we go astray?
O Lord, do not abandon us to our sinful ways.
Awaken us, guide us, and help us to be better than we are.
Amen.
Tags: autocracy, country, division, fear, freedom, hate, peace, politics, Prayer, resentment, sin, tyranny, United States, USA
Posted in politics, Prayer | 2 Comments »
June 13, 2021
Today’s prayer is from Psalm 72, v. 12-14
For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no-one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
Amen
Tags: country, hope, justice, oppression, politics, Prayer, rescue, United States, USA, violence
Posted in politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
June 6, 2021
The prayer today incorporates a paragraph from Across That Bridge by Congressman John Lewis.
“[N]o matter how tarnished or weak the flame, when the forces of darkness seem like they are about to consume us, we will ourselves to survive, and we begin to stand in the center of our inner light and invite its power to clear away the darkness that has clouded the soul.”
Help your light shine in us and through us Lord, that we might find a better way to live and work together.
Amen
Tags: change, hope, light, politics, Prayer, United States, USA
Posted in politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
May 31, 2021
This day Lord we remember and commit to your care all those who fought over the generations to save our world from tyranny and anarchy, and for those, both military and civilian, who are in the struggle still to preserve our democracy. John Dewey said that democracy needed to be reborn in every generation, and we confess Lord that we have been poor midwives. Help us recover and recommit to liberty and justice for all. Help us Lord extend your love and forgiveness to each other, and to move forward with care, particularly for the least among us. Amen
Tags: compassion, country, democracy, justice, liberty, love, Memorial Day, politics, Prayer, Unted States, USA
Posted in politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
May 23, 2021
Today’s prayer borrows from and adapts the hymn “O Holy Ghost, Creator Blessed”.
Holy Spirit, please protect, guide, and comfort our children as they bear the burden of our political obsessions and resentments.
Help us to see and repair the damage we have done that we might leave them a better democracy and country.
Come Holy Ghost, Creator blessed, and in our hearts take up your rest.
Come with your love, and heavenly aid, and heal the world which you have made.
Heal our hearts O Lord.
Amen
Tags: country, democracy, healing, Pentecost, politics, repair, United States, USA
Posted in Pentecost, politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
May 16, 2021
Widen our lens O Lord, well beyond the narrow aperture of our phones.
Help us to lift our heads and see the beauty and the wonder of the world around us, and know that you are with us, that we are not alone nor in charge.
Help us to see your love and and forgiveness in the people around us, so that we too might respond with compassion and mercy.
Help us to see the many revelations of your grace that surround us, inviting us to move beyond our resentful and quarrelsome ways.
Open our eyes Lord to the possibilities of our future were we to work together.
Amen
Tags: beauty, compassion, country, forgiveness, future, grace, invitation, love, mercy, politics, possibility, Prayer, see, seeing, United States, USA, working together
Posted in politics, Prayer | 1 Comment »
May 10, 2021
Today’s prayer borrows from Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, even as the very foundations of our democracy come under attack, and the political norms that gird our Constitution are threatened in the swelling waves of extreme partisanship and disinformation.
We will not fear for we know that God is with us, and the truth will someday set us free to pursue His paths of justice and peace.
Amen
Tags: country, disinformation, future, justice, partisanship, peace, politics, Prayer, refuge, truth, United States, USA
Posted in politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
May 2, 2021
Bless our children Lord.
When we were expecting, the doctor told us, “a child is God’s way of saying the world must go on.”
Help us change Lord, for their sake.
Protect them from a legacy of fear, hate, and resentment.
Instead let them know joy, peace, and opportunity.
Help them love and be loved by their fellow citizens.
Give us all hope.
Help us change Lord, that our children might more fully live.
Amen
Tags: change, children, country, future, joy, love, opportunity, peace, politics, Prayer, United States, USA
Posted in politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
April 25, 2021
When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? Ps. 11:3.
Lord please give us the wisdom to see the damage being done to our democracy by those who would mislead, deflect, disrupt for the sake of disruption and power, and deny the humanity of others.
Give us the courage to learn, witness, to speak up and out, to protect the right of all to vote and be heard.
Help us to connect to our fellow citizens and commit to their well-being.
Lord, help us renew and nurture our country’s ideal of liberty and justice for all.
And as we engage, defend, and rebuild may we trust in your mercy and justice, and follow your paths, committing our efforts to your wisdom and guidance. (Pr. 3:5-6; 16:3)
Help us Lord to resist tyranny in all of its forms.
Amen
Tags: commitment, country, defend, democracy, guidance, justice, liberty, mercy, politics, Prayer, rebuild, truth, tyranny, United States, USA, wisdom, witness
Posted in politics, Prayer | 1 Comment »
April 18, 2021
Galatians 5:22-26
Help us Lord bear the fruit of your Spirit,
love and joy,
free us from our hate and fear;
peace,
heal our anger and resentment;
patience, kindness, and goodness,
may we see and nurture the goodness embedded in all your children;
faithfulness,
let your command to love our neighbor as ourselves guide our way;
gentleness,
may we forgive ourselves and others as we move forward;
self-control,
may we think harder, choose our words more carefully, listen well, and act wisely.
Help us bear fruit O Lord.
Amen
Tags: country, faithfulness, fruit of the Spirit, gentleness, goodness, joy, kindness, love, patience, peace, politics, Prayer, self-control, United States, USA
Posted in politics, Prayer | Leave a Comment »
Prayers For Our Country 