Image: PrayForTheNation
The average pastor, rabbi or imam is never in the running for praying at the inauguration of a new president - and for that I'm grateful. But I'm sure that as well as praying for the new occupant of the Oval Office, men and women in pastoral positions, including me, wonder what they might have prayed had they been invited to offer an invocation at the swearing-in of our 44th president.
Here's what I might have prayed... here's what I do pray... please pray with me...
O God,
upon this man, our new president,
shower your wisdom
that he might govern America
in the light of your truth.
Give him vision to see the future's demands
and a love for the past
upon whose history we stand.
Grant him inner strength to bear the office
to which the nation and the world look
for guidance and leadership.
Give him a love for the law
the keeps us from chaos
and orders our lives for the common good.
Endow him with strength to make difficult decisions
and with courage to be faithful
to judgments made.
Instill in him a respect and reverence for life
in all its shapes and forms,
especially for the most innocent and defenseless.
Give him a heart for the hungry and the homeless,
for victims of disease and war,
for those everywhere in need of a share of others' abundance.
Grant him good counsel on the economy
lest our wealth consume us or be consumed
by our foolishness and greed.
Make him a man of peace and a maker of peace,
at home and abroad,
and in his own heart as he stands before you.
Make him a leader of all Americans
and of Americans on all sides of many issues:
make him a president we can trust.
Let the wisdom of your truth,
the rule of good law
and the promise of liberty and justice for all
guide our new president and the people he serves.
God, we pray that you bless America
and President Barack Obama
who begins this day to lead us.
Amen.
-ConcordPastor Link Inaugural Prayer
This is a beautiful prayer, I may have to link to it.
ReplyDeleteThank you and God bless everybody.
Fran
This is so beautifully said and most to the point!
ReplyDeletethank you, Linda
I passed a link to this to a few friends. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI hope that one day you will be asked to offer a public prayer for President Obama. You have such a gift with words that touch our hearts. You have a worldwide audience now with your blog reaching to all corners of the globe, but it would be nice to see you on television at a podium delivering a public prayer!
ReplyDeleteYour kind words are appreciated, "Anonymous," but I'm quite content with the presider's chair in my parish church and the keyboard here at my blog. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love it!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful and comforting prayer during these troubled times. My wife and I were wondering if the first stanza could be incorporated into the weekly Prayer of the Faithful at Holy Family,as the new prayer for the president which was recently inserted, in its present wording, seems to be concerned with only one issue (which is already included in the Prayer of the Faithful). The wording of "Governing by the light of your truth" conveys a broader hope that our president will always try to lead in a way that reflects God's will regarding the many facets of social justice ~ whether it concerns war, poverty, health care, education, the environment, or the rights of the unborn. Thanks for considering this.
ReplyDelete