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
Posts Tagged ‘liberty’
Memorial Day 2021
May 31, 2021Preserving Our Democracy
April 25, 2021When 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
Preserving Our Liberties
July 4, 2020You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Galatians 5:13-15
Lord, we know that freedom isn’t free and democracy is not self-sustaining.
Both take courage, and persistence, and regard for others.
Help us to do our part.
Help us use our freedom not just to claim “liberty,” but to seek justice for all, to care for one another even if that means wearing a mask, and to reach across partisan divides with love and forgiveness.
Open our eyes and our hearts that we might free those who suffer in our economy from want and need and loss of opportunity, and find ways to prosper together.
Help us to seek your truth and serve you O Lord.
Amen
Guardians of Our Liberty
April 1, 2010The quote that begins this prayer comes from an election sermon preached by Samuel Cooke at Cambridge on May 30, 1770. It followed the Boston Massacre which occurred on March 5 of that year, and laid out themes that served as precursors of the revolution to come.
“The body of a people are disposed to lead quiet and peaceable lives – and it is their highest interest to support the government under which their quietness is ensured — They retain a reverence for their superiors, and seldom foresee or suspect danger, till they feel their burdens.”
Lord help us to pay attention to erosion of our liberties. Protect us from those who would manipulate our fears and discomfort for personal gain. Help us find the time to be informed and to seek your guidance for our lives. Give us the courage to speak up and be engaged, and the self-control to do so in a way that reflects a love of others, even those with whom we disagree. Let us be alert to danger, and prepared to stand our ground (Eph. 6:10-18). Strengthen us and help us O Lord (Is. 41:10).
Amen
Prayers For Our Country 