My 4th of July Prayer

277.1963

My 4th of July Prayer
Brian Zahnd

Father God, Creator of heaven and earth—
You have made all the peoples of the earth for your pleasure,
You have appointed the nations of the world for your glory.
As a people who have pledged allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ,
We pray today for the nation in which we dwell.
We pray you would grant us to be governed by good and wise leaders;
That we would be governed in such a manner that we may live in peace.
We pray you help this nation strive for righteousness and justice;
That your care for the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the alien—
Would flow like a mighty stream through our nation.
May we be a people of humility, generosity and compassion.
May the weakest among us, the unborn and the unfortunate, the elderly and the ill—
Be shown your justice and mercy.
We pray that we who are the followers of the Prince of Peace and his kingdom,
Would be a peaceable people seeking to live in peace with one another.
We pray that hate and acrimony would give way to love and harmony.
We pray that the church of Jesus Christ in our land would be found faithful.
We pray that we would be a faithful witness to the kingdom of God;
That the church in this nation would be a city set upon a hill;
That the church in this nation would faithfully model the way of salvation—
The way of following Jesus Christ.
We ask all of this in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

BZ

(The artwork is Map by Jasper Johns, 1961)