As many of us are still reeling from the January 6 attack on Congress meeting in our nation’s Capitol, and as our nation inaugurates a new President tomorrow, I cannot think of anything we need to do more than pray.
In my Presbyterian tradition worship is declaring the “worthiness” of God, but we can only do so after first honestly confessing our own unworthiness. For me, confession is an essential element in all worship.
This past Sunday, I participated in a prayer of confession and lament that both spoke to my heart, and also from my heart back to God. As the Bible tells us, confession is essential to our well-being: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
I discovered the source of the prayer and today offer it to you. You may find portions challenging or uncomfortable to pray. But remember: if confession does not call us to focus on that which we prefer not to hear or see, it is not real confession!
I plan to make this prayer part of my daily routine this week and invite you to join me.
O God Almighty, heaven is Your throne and the earth is Your footstool. You are the one in whose hand the hearts of the kings of this earth are as streams of water that You direct where you will. You are the one who has entered into our pain through Christ Jesus our Lord and the one who reigns on High.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Father, as we witness the heartache of political division that spills into rage and violence, we cry out in pain and sorrow. Jesus, we cry out for Your rule and reign as king to be manifest, even as we see the works of sinful humans and of the devil on display. Holy Spirit, we cry out for the eyes of our hearts as a people to be opened to see our sins and to see our hope in You and nowhere else. We see that Your will is not done on earth as in heaven, that the poor are mocked and that your name is carried in vain, and so we cry out to You as You have taught us to pray.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord, we turn to You in this time, as we should in every time, because You hold the words of life and the truth. You are the one in whom all things hold together. You have promised to reconcile all things by the blood of Your cross, to make all things new, to wipe away our tears, and to make Your dwelling place again with us. As You have been faithful in all generations, we ask You to fulfill your promises in Your church today.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord, we beg you to grant Your hope and peace to the people of the United States of America. We long not for the shallow peace of quiet streets, but for the peace that comes from You—Your shalom that makes all things new under your righteous reign. We long to see Your body, the church, and every member thereof in our land renewed with Your spirit of peace. We long to see churches teach Your heart for the poor and commit themselves to lift up the weak rather than to prop up the mighty. We cry out for Your people to be a witness to Your kingdom—to a city whose foundation and builder is You, that is vaster and richer than any vision offered by earthly politics. We lament the spirit of division that prevents those who call themselves Your children from listening to, learning from, and making sacrifices for each other. We cry out as brothers and sisters are bewitched by falsehoods and conspiracies even as we recognize our complicity in their loneliness and despair.
Lord, hear our prayer.
If, O Lord, You are not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, then we beg that You would allow repentance to flow forth from this land—from those who have incited and perpetrated violence, from those who have stood silent as evil was plotted, and from those who have been consumed with our own comfort rather than the deep needs of our neighbors. We do not wish evil to any of these, but Lord we ask that You would cast down Satan and all his works, and remove the blindness of demonic forces from our land. We name the devil as the true enemy of peace, and pray that You would enable us to love our brothers and sisters even as we long for repentance and justice. If You would mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? Let us therefore watch with humility against our own pride and hatred.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord, we lift our petition to you, knowing that You hear our prayer. Lord we carry our pain to You, knowing that You are sufficient to hold it and able to comfort. Lord we carry our grievances to You, knowing that You are holy and just and able to do more than we ask or imagine.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God, we pray that You would cleanse us and fit us to follow your ways and do Your works. Seek out our hidden sins, and purge unrighteous, vindictive anger from among us. Lord, give us the words and heart to praise You in the darkness, and the strength to rejoice when You show Your power and answer the prayers of your people.
Lord, hear our prayer.
O Lord who holds the power of resurrection, may You breathe new life into the church in the United States, to every denomination and every local congregation, that we may speak Your truth fully and walk in all your ways. Forgive us for the blaspheming of Your name among the nation by our words and actions. Grant us repentance and the fruit of it in our lives.
Lord, hear our prayer.
The prayer comes from the Chalmers Center, a ministry associated with Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, a college of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the most conservative of major Presbyterian denominations.
The following is from the Chalmers Center website: “We long to see churches united in such a time of division, but only united in allegiance to King Jesus and guided by the full counsel of His Word. This is the vision that continues to guide our work.
Because of our commitment to the local church and its testimony, we emphatically and unequivocally condemn the mixing of the name of Jesus Christ with this insurrection [at the Capitol on January 6]. Furthermore, to see crosses, fish symbols, and the name of Jesus in the same photographs as confederate flags, nooses, and holocaust-denying slogans calls to mind the darkest times in our nation’s history.
Current events call once again for lament. So we lament—for the brokenness on display in our country; for the complicity in violence and destruction of those who claim the name of Jesus; for great injustices; for politics that puts the proud and mighty before the weak and marginalized. But the moment also calls for prayers of hope and longing for the all-encompassing shalom that comes only through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Scriptures referenced: Isaiah 66:1; Proverbs 21:1; Luke 11:2-4; Ps. 73:7-9; John 6:68-69; Col. 1:13-20; Ps. 89:1; Rev. 21:2-5; Heb. 11:10; 2 Pet. 3:9; Ps. 130:3; 1 John 3:8; 1 John 5:14; Eph. 3:20; Ps. 90:8; Matt. 3:8.”
Thank you so much, Rich.