Father,

We praise your name because you are GOOD, you are RIGHTEOUS and you are LOVING! And, Lord, you SAVE!

Father, so much around us is changing that we don’t quite understand the world we live in. There is so much conflict around the world and in our own nation. There is so much hurt and destruction. There are wars, there are civil wars, there is terrorism, there are illnesses and epidemics and so many economic problems.

Our country is divided and it seems most of us feel that our values are eroding. We feel like our living standard is decreasing and that a lot of what we hold dear is under threat. And it is not only impersonal forces that seem to be driving this, but it feels like our neighbors have different interests than us and sometimes seem to be taking advantage of us. No matter what political or economic preferences we stand for, there seems to be somebody who wants something from us.

Lord, all of these challenges seem to produce sinful patterns in our own hearts. We long for justice and so we point the finger. We long for truth, but when we hear something we don’t like we lash out. We long for security and seek it in our degrees, our work, our skills and our friends.

We live in fear and in worry, working hard at securing for ourselves and for our families the future we desire. Lord, the fear is strong and the pain doesn’t seem to go away. It is the pain of not being who we would like to be, not having what we would like to have, not going in the direction we would like to go in.

We are hurting and we don’t want to be hurting so we try to manufacture a salvation for ourselves. Many times we don’t cling to you, but we try to be safe independently of you. You are just too slow for us. Your salvation and your promises seem far off and too abstract. We have real problems and you talk too much about sin and repentance.

So we rationalize our sins. We shut off from our neighbor, in stead of openly loving them. We come to church and we read our Bibles and fast, but we do so with an expectation of quick deliverance, hoping, just hoping, that somehow we would escape the difficulties of our situation without having to change.

We hope for light, but behold there is darkness, for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men, we grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight. All of us growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Your arm is not too short that it cannot save, neither your ear that it cannot hear. It is our iniquities that have made a separation between you and us.

Lord, forgive us our pride and our desire to be independent of you, a desire manifested in such subtle ways that sometimes we are not even fully aware. Lord, forgive us our self-centeredness. Forgive us the fact that many times we go through the motions and we forget that you are a real God, wanting to engage with us in a real relationship.

Lord, forgive the fact that we forget your promises in the pursuit of short-term security and absence of pain.

Lord, we thank you, that by your servant, the perfect Servant Jesus Christ, you provided salvation for us from our sins. We thank you that our Lord is committed to restoration of your kingdom. Lord, we thank you that you provide the promises and the Holy Sprit for your people to grasp and believe them.

Father, we pray we would live in faith that you will, one day, on THAT GLORIOUS DAY, complete your deliverance us. We pray that we would patiently pray and watch that you would fulfill your promises. We pray that we would not despair in fear and worry or try to escape the pain we feel by lying to ourselves or to you. Rather, Father, we pray we would cry out to you in submission and prayer.

Father, have mercy on our country. We pray that you give wisdom to our officials and you give peace to the country. We pray that, whichever way this election goes, you would pour out your grace and help the people live together in a just way.

Father, we pray you provide righteous reconciliation between democrats and republicans, blacks and whites, liberals and conservatives, rich and poor, young and old, majority and minority. We pray that nobody would take justice in their own hands, nor attempt to define the truth, but that both justice and truth would be revealed from you.

Father, use these current events to call this country to spiritual reformation. We pray for repentance and for faith in you. We pray that we, your people, would be salt and light. We pray we would proclaim and live out the Gospel at all times, in front of all people. We pray we would love our neighbors.

Father, help us live in the pursuit of the future justice, glory and restoration.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.