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
They will neither harm or destroy on all my holy mountain for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord . . . Isaiah 11:9
Keep before us a vision of your peace O Lord.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion;
from fear, intolerance, and terror;
from factions, tribalism, and hyper-partisanship;
from lies, deceit, and mendacity;
from pride and arrogance and every evil way.
Help us pursue your peace O Lord.
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other . . . Colossians 3:8-9
At the start of a new year we begin with shots in Tuscon bringing grief, recriminations, calls for reconciliation, and bewilderment.
Lord, help us to be a better people than we are.
Help us to seek wisdom over partisan power, justice over greed, forgiveness over hate. Help us to be honest with ourselves and with others, both as to what we think we know and what we do not. Comfort all who grieve for the victims of violence. And as we mourn, fill us also with compassion for those whose mental illness goes untreated, those who cannot find work, those who struggle to find food and shelter, and those who only fear the future. Turn us from fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. Turn us towards kindness, patience, self-control, and the desire to live together in peace. (Galatians 5:19-23). Equip us to find new ways of living together and new ways of sharing and service.
Show us your ways, O Lord, teach us your paths; guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are God our Savior and our hope is in you all day long. Ps. 25:4-5
We can be a better people than we have been. Help us to change O Lord.
Amen
“Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? . . . You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Mt. 7:1-5
Lord, in a week where a man who was a husband, father, grandfather, friend, and physician was murdered in church, help us to see that violence is not the answer.
As we try to move forward through the difficult issues of our day, help us to look at the full humanity of others and be aware that we cannot fully understand your will.
As we each work out our own salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), help us to respect the struggles and judgments of others whose trials are many and different than ours. Where our judgments and values clash, help us to trust simply in the knowledge that some day you will judge the living and the dead, and to resist the temptations of self-righteousness, and of judging or demonizing others.
As your servant, Dr. Martin Luther King, taught us: “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Lord, let your light shine into our lives and deliver us from darkness. Help us each to love despite our differences, and teach us to forgive. Lead us, O Lord.
Amen.
Prayers For Our Country 