Prayers For Our Country

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. . . . If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. Proverbs 9:10,12

Lord, bless our president.  Give him wisdom, strength, and the courage to persevere as he seeks to move the country forward.   Give him discerning advisors to work with who keep wisdom in view and care for all people foremost in mind. (Pr. 17:24). Help all of our leaders walk in the way of righteousness, and along paths of justice. (Pr. 8:20)  Help us Lord, as a people, to walk in the ways of understanding and seek learning and insight. (Pr. 2:3, 9:6). You have told us O Lord to drive out the mockers, “and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.” (Pr. 22:10)  Save us from the mockers, and all those who hate knowledge and seek to confuse and mislead rather than to help and inform.  You have told us O Lord that “[t]here is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Pr. 14:12).  Save us from simplistic solutions and the complacency of the foolish. Let us not be misled by those who have no interest in our common future, who are unmoved by the suffering of the people they lead, and who seek partisan gain rather than progress in resolving the issues that hold us back.

Provide us with wise leaders, and help us be a wiser people. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.

This week’s prayer was contributed by the Rev. Kim Ryan in Columbia, Missouri.  If you would like to contribute a prayer, please send an e-mail to prayforourcountry@gmail.com.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

Holy One,

We give thanks for the call of your Spirit that urges us to remember our unity.  In the one we know as Jesus, we have received a faithful witness of your expansive and inclusive love.  Your intention has been offered through all of creation and through the ages – that we are all your people, born of your love and created to be family together.  We thank you for the defining moments of our history that have sung this truth with clarity and mercy. We thank you for the defining moments of our lives that resonate this great hope of your heart. We are grateful for the lifting of burdens and barriers to glimpse the greater truth of our kinship.  During this week of an inauguration of a new president, we humbly stand in such a moment in history, in our individual lives, in our communities of faith, and even in our global community.

The celebration of the world this week echoes hopes for a new day, a new beginning, and new possibilities.  We pray for President Obama and all the leaders of our country and the world who recognize this moment of history as a pivotal moment crying out for reconciliation, and for problem solving with a higher resolve and commitment beyond self interests.  We pray for the citizens of this country and citizens of the world to seize not only the moments of this week but the hope for a future built on combined efforts, shared values, and hard work.

May we listen deeply to the wisdom of our saints, wise ones, and ancestors.  May we listen deeply to the wisdom of history’s successes and failures.  May we listen deeply to the wisdom of our own hearts in unison with the hearts of brothers and sisters created in your image.

In the name of justice and mercy, we pray.

Amen.