A Political Prayer

I don’t usually write out my prayers, but when I was invited to give the invocation at the McCain/Palin rally last week here in Lancaster, I felt the need to take time to prayerfully consider my words in advance. In case you are interested, below is what I prayed:

Heavenly Father,

You teach us that every good and every perfect gift comes from above, from You. And so this afternoon we want to pause for just a moment to give you thanks for the many good gifts you have so graciously lavished on us. We thank you for our country that you have so richly blessed. We thank you for our freedom that allows us to gather at this very hour without any fear of reprisal. We thank you for the purpose for which we have gathered together and for the democracy that we so cherish and enjoy. We recognize today that all of these gifts come from You and we are so very thankful for each of them.

Father, you have instructed us in Your Word to pray for those in authority over us. So we take time today to lift up to you our president and vice president along with our senators and congressmen and congresswomen in Washington as well as our governor and our many state and local leaders. We ask that you would strengthen them, guide them and give them courage and wisdom each day. I ask that each of them would continually seek divine guidance from you as they lead our country. And I especially take time today to pray for the two individuals that we have gathered together to hear from. I pray for Senator McCain and for Governor Palin. We thank you for both them and for their strong and proven commitment to our country and for their willingness to be a public servant. Most all of us in this room have no real idea the immense physical, emotional and spiritual toll it must take on someone to run for President and Vice President of the United States. So I ask today that you would protect them both. I ask that you would give them strength from on high and that your grace would be sufficient for them. I pray for their spouses and for their children and ask that you would protect their marriages and their families. And I pray that this political process would ultimately draw them even closer to each other than they already are, and more importantly, that these days ahead would draw them closer to You.

And finally, Father, I ask that you would continue to be with our brave men and women who are this day in harms way as they protect our freedom as Americans. I ask that you would protect them as well and give grace to their loving families here at home. So Father we ask that you would now bless our time together. May we sense Your presence with us and may we honor You with all of our words and all of our actions this day. And most of all, we ask that you would continue to bless our country and to use each of us to accomplish Your will here on earth and for all of eternity. And I pray these things in the name of Your Son, my personal Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen