Posts Tagged ‘mercy’

Autocracy

July 11, 2021

Today’s prayer borrows from Psalm 83

See how the enemies of democracy are astir.

With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against the freedoms you cherish.

“Come” they say. “Let us destroy this diverse nation, let democracy be no more.”

With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against us.

All those who lie, those who deny justice, those who seek power at our expense,

Make them like tumbleweed, O Lord, like chaff before the wind.

As fire consumes the forest, or a flame sets mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.

May their efforts perish in disgrace.

Cover their faces in shame, and let those who seek your love, your compassion, your mercy prevail.

Amen

Seeing

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

Preserving Our Democracy

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

Guide Us Towards Peace

March 14, 2021

O Lord, save us from

  • lies told,
  • ill-will carefully nurtured,
  • unfounded fears and suspicion,
  • unexamined anger and resentment.

Turn us around O Lord on the roads we have taken.

Encourage us in our efforts to

  • assume goodwill,
  • seek your truth,
  • share your mercy,
  • be kind to one another.

O Lord, put our feet on the path to peace and guide us forward.

Amen

Fruits of the Spirit

February 28, 2021

Lord thank you for

  • kindness,
  • compassion,
  • mercy,
  • generosity of spirit,
  • patience,
  • perseverance, and
  • integrity.

Let us see and acknowledge these especially when present in our common life together, and seek these in those who would govern us.

Help us to apply these gifts in our interactions with others, and pursue goodness O Lord.

Amen

Turning Point

January 24, 2021

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.

In Need of Grace

January 17, 2021

We are a broken and grieving people O Lord.

Broken relationships, broken promises, broken bodies, broken lives.

We are broken Lord, although not beyond repair.

Please let your grace shine through and in our broken places.

Help us to repent O Lord, and to walk in your ways.

Give us wisdom, give us courage, give us humility, give us integrity, give us compassion, give us mercy, give us love.

Help us to discern fact from folly, and turn us from false gods.

Heal us O Lord, and give us hope.

Amen

A Time For Grace

November 15, 2020

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.

A Better Way

October 11, 2020

“Show us your ways O Lord . . . “ (Ps. 25 v. 4-5)

You have shown us a better way Lord. A way of

  • compassion,
  • love,
  • mercy,
  • forgiveness,
  • generosity,
  • patience,
  • kindness, and
  • self-control.

And you have shown us the way we should not go. A way of

  • factions,
  • hate,
  • oppression,
  • anger,
  • fear,
  • self-absorption,
  • death, and
  • destruction.

Forgive our missteps and misdirection, and guide us into the better way.

Amen

For Our Elections

August 2, 2020

Today’s prayer is adapted from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.

Lord, please help us protect our elections which are the heart of our democracy.

Guide us in our responsibilities as citizens that we may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for our common good.

Ensure the faithful administration of our voting processes so that the rights of all may be protected.

And in our thoughts and in our actions, help us to align ourselves with your justice and mercy and grace so that we might be a people at peace among ourselves.

Amen