PRAYER FOR THE NATION

    Lord, I come today to pray for my country. I believe you are my Father, the mighty God, ruler of all mankind and all creation.  I believe you are King of time and history, the Ancient of Days, but also the controller of the days to come.  You are the One who is able to see the end from the beginning; you are sovereign and work all things after the counsel of your own will.  Yet, you tell us to pray, and teach us that you make future events in history dependent on our faith and prayers, working both your will and our needs and requests together.

   Your ways are not our ways, and I confess I don’t always understand why you do what you do, or even how you can do them.  I am content Father in you being God and in my being your creature.  I believe you love me, I believe you mean me good and not evil, even when trouble comes into my life.  I believe you placed me in this country in which I was born and live, I believe your hand has been at work in the history and development of this nation, I believe you care about all nations and call each one to righteousness as you do for the United States of America.

   Father, I also know and believe that you judge nations.  I know that your revealed will is that all the nations be discipled in the following of Jesus and what he has taught us.  I confess Lord that I see much in my country that is not obedient to Christ.  Father there is much in America that is not obedient to Christ in its laws; it is not discipled in its culture, nor discipled in how we treat one another.  Oh Lord, I confess that there is in fact much evil in our land, and blood on our hands.  Our fathers have sinned and we have sinned.  I confess you have every right to judge us and take vengeance for the slaughter of unborn children, vengeance for our racism, vengeance for our neglect of the poor, vengeance for our arrogance and pride, vengeance for our celebration and encouragement of immorality.

   I confess Father that this nation which talks so much of you, has the motto that we actually trust in you, believes more in itself.  I confess that we are a land of adultery, our men abandon the children which they produce and thrust the mothers and the children into poverty.  Father, I also confess that sometimes we believe and act as if this nation is the greatest of all upon the earth, and that even those of your own people who say they worship you seem to set our nation even over your Word and truth.  Forgive us for loving our wealth, our security, our power, over your Church and over your name.  Lord God you know that there is much unbelief in this land while we have worshiped the god of money.

   So, I come Father pleading for my nation.  You have told us to pray for the place where we dwell, you have told us to pray for all in authority, and you have also told us that government is ordained by you and that you in fact set the people who govern over us.  You have told us to show them respect and honor. This confuses me Lord, as sometimes evil people rule over us, so I assume Lord that you are working out your will, either for good or ill, either for blessing or curse.  I’m praying for mercy today Lord, and asking you to forgive our sins so that we might actually be blessed.

    I’m asking you today Lord not only for an eventual good ending, but for good people to run this country. I’m asking Lord that you give us good leaders, leaders who do the right and good thing, leaders who will be a model and example to our children, leaders who will do justice, punish evil doers, and reward those who do right. So Lord, I am asking you even to over-rule the choices we have before us and give us good leaders.

    Father, I confess we don’t deserve good leaders.  I confess we have sinned enough, disowned you enough, rebelled enough, and mistreated the oppressed enough that we should get only wicked and deceitful leaders who will take us further and quicker to the precipice of justice.  Dear God restrain your hand and turn the hearts of our countrymen back to you the living God!  Please Lord, for the sake of your great name, for the sake of the many that have loved and followed you in faith in this land, for the sake of the lost yet to be saved, and for Jesus sake, forgive us and don’t treat us as our sins deserve.

   Father, I know that no earthly man or woman is Jesus except Jesus.  As you use broken and forgiven preachers so you use broken and forgiven, and even unforgiven, politicians.  Lord, turn the heart of whomever you have chosen to be our next president to do right, no matter what their own evil heart, plans, or manipulative party wants them to do.  Save us from confusion O Lord!  Save especially your people from being taken captive by the evil scheming of men so that they give up love and faith and become so partisan that they destroy fellowship in the body of Christ.  Save your people from being malicious in their slander, save them from believing or spreading gossip, save them from unbelieving cynicism or skepticism.  Save them from compromising their Biblical principles in the name of political victory.

   Thank you Father for the great blessing of being in a nation where we the people have the right to vote, (and please Lord give us wisdom in that vote) to speak and advocate, to gather, campaign, protest, march, and call for change.  I pray for peace in this nation, and peace between nations, Lord that whoever takes office we, your saved people, will still be able to preach and proclaim the Gospel with boldness.  I pray that even if leaders insufficient for the times, leaders incompetent for the task, leaders of which we become ashamed take office that your agenda will still be accomplished.  I pray that our confidence will not be in rulers, nor that we will on man depend, but solely on you, the Lord and the One who rules heaven and earth forever and ever.

   Father I ask that you will give your people grace to be saints, to live as salt and light, to love and be kind, to be merciful, to proclaim an unpopular Gospel and Biblical morality with courage and humility, to comfort those in distress, and to speak truth to power with confidence and faith in your mighty will and strength.

I ask this for myself, my family, the people who are called Christians, for my fellow citizens, for all the people in the world that this nation will affect, and for the sake of your great and holy name.  I ask it in the name of Jesus,

AMEN!