Above:  Flag of the United States of America

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Prayers Source = Chalice Worship (1997), of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Almighty God, giver of all good things:

We thank you for the natural majesty and beauty of this land.  They restore us, though we often destroy them.

Heal us.

We thank you for the great resources of this nation.  They make us rich though we often exploit them.

Forgive us.

We thank you for the men and women who have made this country strong.  They are models for us, though we often fall short of them.

Inspire us.

We thank you for the torch of liberty that has been lit in this land.  It has drawn people from every nation, though we have often hidden from its light.

Enlighten us.

We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich variety.  It sustains our life, though we have been faithless again and again.

Renew us.

Help us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun.  Strengthen our efforts to blot out ignorance and prejudice, and to abolish poverty and crime.  And hasten the day when all people, with many voices in one united chorus, will glorify your holy Name.

Amen.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We pray for this nation in which you have set us,

for its men and women of government,

for the leaders of commerce and industry,

for those who through newspapers and television lead in thought.

Human cleverness alone cannot heal our nation’s sickness,

treaties and armaments cannot safeguard our real interests,

more luxuries and leisure cannot meet our deepest needs.

O may your Living Word speak afresh to our people.

Raise up men and women who can speak words of insight and integrity,

that new life may inspire us and set us right.

O Prince of Peace, despised and rejected by the wise ones of this world,

we pray for this world,

that the people who grope in the darkness may see a great light,

the light of your love for every human being.  Amen.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You gather us together in faith, O God, as a loving mother and a gentle father.  Help us to remember that your dwelling place is built upon love and peace, and that to bring about your reign on earth we must follow the way of peace.  We pray for all governments and legislatures that they may be mindful of the rights of the peoples of this world to live in peace and dignity.  Grant this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We have come to sing,

rejoicing in the good that walks this land by day.

We have come to be silent,

repenting of the evil that stalks it by night.

We have come to this place because here we are reminded

that you are both our creator and our conscience.

Here all our loyalties are put in their proper place,

ordered behind our allegiance to you.

Be with us in our celebration and our confession,

that our citizenship may become more responsible,

our nation more humble, and our world more dependable.  Amen.



Image Source = Wikipedia

Adapted very slightly from the Book of Common Prayer (1979), of The Episcopal Church:

O Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world:  We commend this nation to your merciful care, that, being guided by your Providence, we may dwell secure in your peace.  Grant to the Honorable Barack Obama, the President of the United States; the Honorable Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia; the Honorable Heidi Davison, Mayor of Athens-Clarke County; and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do your will.  Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in your fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.  Amen.

NOTE:  One can adapt this prayer easily to other geographic locations and update it by changing names and titles.  I believe that one should pray for all in authority, as the Apostle Paul instructed us in the New Testament.  There is a huge difference between praying for someone and praying about that person.  My mandate is to pray for, not about, people.  Praying for people in authority with whom we agree is probably easier than praying for those in authority with whom we disagree–even disagree quite strongly–but, in most cases, those with whom we disagree strongly are NOT evil.  They might be misinformed about some issues, but so might we.  Prayer, when it works as it ought to do, changes us positively, at least.  So, when praying for those in authority, may we do so with a healthy amount of humility.–KRT

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/for-the-prime-minister-of-the-united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/thanksgiving-for-new-zealand/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/for-canada/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/for-the-prime-minister-of-canada/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/o-canada/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/for-the-canadian-federal-election-2011/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/for-the-prime-minister-of-japan/

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/for-the-president-and-the-prime-minister-of-france/

Flag of the United States of America, 1845-1846, the Temporal Point of Origin of the English Translation of This Text

Image Source = http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-1845.html

English words by Charles T. Brooks, John S. Dwight, and William E. Hickson

Hickson wrote verse three.

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/feast-of-william-edward-hickson-march-21/

Hymn Source = The Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1957)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  God bless our native land,

Firm may she ever stand

Through storm and night;

When the wild tempests rave,

Ruler of wind and wave,

Do Thou our country save

By Thy great might.

2.  For her our prayer shall rise

To God above the skies;

On Him we wait;

Thou who art ever nigh,

Guarding with watchful eye,

To Thee aloud we cry,

God save the State!

3.  Not for this land alone,

But be God’s mercies shown

From shore to shore;

And may the nations see

That men should brothers be,

And form one family

The wide world o’er.

Above:  United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

Image in the Public Domain

1.  I have modified a prayer from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), of The Methodist Church, by updating archaic language and modifying some punctuation.  Language changes, as reading a prayer from a 45-year-old book indicates.

2.  I say this prayer for the United States of America, of which I am a native-born citizen.  Others might say if for another nation-state, however.  That is appropriate, as the prayer befits any sovereign nation.

3.  The Prayer:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, bless our country that it may be a blessing to the world.  Keep us from hypocrisy in feeling or action.  Grant us sound government and just laws, good education and a clean press, simplicity and justice in our relations with one another, and, above all, a spirit of service which will abolish pride of place and inequality of opportunity; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

4.  This spirit of this prayer reminds me of a lovely hymn, “This is My Song,” with words by Lloyd Stone and Georgia Harkness.   The music comes from “Finlandia,” by Jean Sibelius.

This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.

May truth and freedom come to every nation
May peace abound where strife has raged so long;
That each may seek to love and build together,
A world united, righting every wrong.
A world united in its love for freedom,
Proclaiming peace together in one song.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR