Prayer for the Nation

PRAYER FOR THE NATION

Lord, make our nation great, not for our sake, but for Your glory,

Lord, help us fulfill Your mission to live not only for ourselves, but also for the world that You loved and created and redeemed.

Help us avoid the temptation of power for power’s sake and heed Your words that “to whom much is given, much is required.”

Let us truly be a superpower, not to conquer and dominate the world, but to love the world with a love that can only come from You.

That whether the nations love or hate us, they do so because of Your love that flows through us.

Lord, make our nation great, help us to work together to break the bondage of poverty that afflicts so many in our land.

Help us meet the oppressed in the depth of their affliction, not simply with a warm meal but with a way out of their condition.

Though You have said we will always have the poor, help us not grow weary in feeding the hungry and caring for the sick.

With compassion and wisdom and generosity help us free them in Your name so that they will not exchange the bondage of poverty for the bondage of dependency.

Help us work tirelessly to change what is within our nation that creates such bondage and preserve that which stands against it.

And, Lord, help those in bondage to see that You have created them in Your image, not to be slaves to sin or ignorance or people who would seek to take advantage of their situation. But You have created them for a purpose and You have redeemed them at a great price.

Lord, help us fuel competition with love rather than greed.

Lord, help our prisons to be empty and our laws become dusty because we are a people who do what is right because we live by what You have written in our hearts.

Lord, let us lead the world in showing that You can bring together those from far and near, tear down walls, and in our diversity create unity, in our differences establish peace.

Lord, remind us that You make us strong to defend the weak.

That You make us rich to help the poor

That You make us wise to teach the unwise

That You give us eyes to see for the blind

And mouths to speak for those who have no voice

That You give us arms to reach up to You and out to each other

Help us never see Your blessings as something we have earned or deserved, but to know they are from Your abundant grace.

Most of all, remind us constantly that none of this is possible without You.

That we cannot love with Your love without Your Spirit.

That it is You who will see us through the difficult and dangerous times.

That it is You at work even when it seems we are losing.

That in any progress or success that we have, it is only because of Your wonderful, amazing grace.

Lord, make our nation great, not because we have made ourselves into our own image of greatness.

Make our nation great because we reflect Your image, the Most Holy Triune God. Make us great in Your love.