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
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
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
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
Today’s prayer is paraphrased from several of the Psalms (NIV).
Do not fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround us. (Ps. 49:5)
For God will guide us.
He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted; he has not hidden his face but has listened to our cry for help. (Ps. 22:24)
And God will guide us.
He will rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and the needy from those who rob them. (Ps. 35:10)
And God will guide us.
He will repay the wicked for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. (Ps. 28:4)
And God will guide us.
We can still be confident of this: We will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, for he is with us always. (Ps. 27:13)
For our God guides us.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Ps. 27:14)
Amen
Lord, we know you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. (Nehemiah 9:17).
Stick with us, and guide us Lord, despite our quarrelsome ways.
Give us the humility to seek out different points of view, to find the wisdom in others. (Proverbs 15:22)
Turn us from those who feed hate and fear and resentment, and towards those who are willing to come together, reason together, and find a path forward together.
Help us to be both merciful and just, ensuring the accountability necessary to protect our future.
Put us on the path of a peace founded on empathy, equality and good governance, for we know this brings both joy and prosperity.
Help us to repent, to learn from our sins, and to be better than we are.
Amen
Thank you Lord for our democracy holding and a peaceful transfer of power.
Help us to recommit to democratic values,* repair our foundations, and rebuild.
Turn us from the sins of anger, hate, factionalism, and resentment. (Galatians 5:20)
Lead us in your paths of justice, kindness, and mercy. (2 Chronicles 7:14; Ps. 25:4-5; Galatians 22-23)
May we, in the words of our Vice President,** emerge from our trials with new wisdom, imagining new possibilities. Help us to open our hearts to one another.
May we, with your help, be so zealous and successful at pursuing your justice and peace that we, like Hezekiah and his people, find ourselves rejoicing at the speed of our progress. (2 Chronicles 29:36).
Amen
*As identified in the National Council For The Social Studies C3 Framework: honesty, mutual respect, cooperation, attention to multiple perspectives, equality, liberty, and freedom.
**Paraphrased from Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks at the Covid-19 Memorial Service, January 19, 2021.
You reap what you sow. (Gal. 6:7-10)
Forgive us Lord, for planting and nurturing the seeds of hate, anger and resentment.
Forgive us for our willingness to dismiss and even mock our fellow citizens.
Forgive us for pursuing the folly and comfort of easy answers.
Forgive us for following false prophets.
Help us heal the wounds and scars on our land and among our people.
Help us to plant anew, and to pull the weeds that infect our current discourse.
Guide us to a future harvest of justice and wisdom, of love and compassion.
Amen.
Light of the world, shine in our hearts, that we might see and act with compassion.
Shine in our minds that we might love justice, and act wisely.
Dispel our fears, our anger, our resentments, our sorrows and despair.
Shine on our hands that we might reach out in love.
Shine on our feet that we might find the path of peace.
Guide us O Lord through the new year.
Amen
Today’s prayer comes from a statement on healing our country issued by The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, on November 7, 2020.
We pray for this nation and for our leaders. We pray for patience and endurance. We pray that as we move forward, no one is left behind. We pray that in all we do, may we be guided by the prophet’s call to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
