A Prayer for the Election

A wonderful prayer by the Rev. Dr. Ken Carter, from the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship website:

Creator of us all:
you are the source of every blessing,
the judge of every nation
and the hope of earth and heaven:

We pray to you on the eve of this important and historic election.

We call to mind the best that is within us:
That we live under God,
that we are indivisible,
that liberty and justice extend to all.

We acknowledge the sin that runs through our history as a nation:
The displacement of native peoples, racial injustice, economic inequity, regional separation.

And yet we profess a deep and abiding gratitude
for the goodness of ordinary people who have made sacrifices,
who have sought opportunities,
who have journeyed to this land as immigrants
strengthening its promise in successive generations,
who have found freedom on these shores,
and defended this freedom at tremendous cost.

Be with us in the days that are near.
Remind us that your ways are not our ways,
that your power and might transcend
the plans of every nation,
that you are not mocked.

Let those who follow your Son Jesus Christ be a peaceable people
in the midst of division.

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us,
break down the walls of political partisanship,
and make us one.

Give us wisdom to walk in your ways,
courage to speak in your name,
and humility to trust in your providence. Amen.

Worry

Last night for our worship/study time during the session meeting, I invited folks to write down and share three things they worry about--small things, middle-sized things, and big things. It was a lively discussion, and after it (including when I shared my own worries, and my tendency to be a worrier), we read Matthew 6:25-34, about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.

This morning during my devotional time, I opened to Day 7 of the book I am using (40 Day Journey with Deitrich Bonhoeffer—a great book--Augsburg Books publisher). I was VERY surprised to find the same theme and scripture. Here are a couple of quotes from his writings from this morning:

“Worry is always directed toward tomorrow . . . It is our securing things for tomorrow which makes us so insecure today . . . Only those who put tomorrow completely into God’s hand and receive fully today what they need for their lives are really secure. Receiving daily liberates me from tomorrow.”

The scripture was Matthew 6:33-34, which we had read last night.

The prayer for today was: “Lord, I place my worries in your gracious hand and live this day trusting that you are with me and that what I have is more than I need.”

Do you think God is trying to tell me something?