Our father in heaven. Our good, gracious, loving, strong, tender, fierce, merciful, avenging, ever blessed Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord. We pray that you would hear us for Jesus's sake as we think of the news in our city and our country from these past weeks, there are many reasons to grieve, to cry out for justice.
We think of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis three weeks ago, the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska right here in our city last month, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday. O Lord, bring comfort to the grieving, strength to the weary, hope to those who are this morning in despair.
Look upon the Ukrainian population in our midst, even in this church, as they may bear a special sadness. Wipe away their tears. We pray again, you might heal their war-torn land. Lead many to Christ. We pray this morning for Erika Kirk and her two children. No one should be a widow so young. We thank you for the many times her husband bore witness to Christ and even her testimony, as she shared over the weekend, boldly, gladly, kindly, courageously.
We thank you that she continues to point people to Jesus as this world's only true hope, knowing that the Lord Jesus suffered the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. As we look at the evil in our world, we find ourselves saying with the psalmist, "oh Lord, how many are my foes? Many are rising against me."
And then we say also with the psalmist, "but you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. The nations may rage, the peoples may plot, the wicked may take counsel together. But he who sits in heaven laughs. You, O Lord, hold them in derision." You tell us. "Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath is quickly kindled." Blessed are all those who take refuge in you. We pray, oh Lord, that the civil magistrate, as Romans 13 teaches, might be a defense for those who do good and bear the sword against those who do evil. And even as we pray for justice, we are also mindful of Proverbs 24 "do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him."
O Lord, we ask humbly, boldly, that you might do a great work in our midst. Many have wondered if you might be stirring once again in the West, perhaps ready to send awakening, ready to fill your churches, ready to quench a thirst with the water of life, when so many are realizing they have been drinking from foul and broken cisterns.
Do a mighty work in our day, O Lord, not simply for the good of this country, though we pray that you might bless America, that you might treat us not as our sins deserve, but we ultimately pray for the fame of your name. We shudder to remember that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
We give thanks for the many freedoms—the blessings we have enjoyed in this country. We ask that you would protect the rights of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness and forgive us as a nation when we have turned that liberty into license. Give us truth. Give us grace as we relate to friends and family, to coworkers who do not know the truth of your word or know it, and do not submit to it. Oh Lord, though we are rightly angry when your laws are disobeyed and your commandments are disregarded, yet may we in our anger sin not.
We pray that you would set them free from the snare of the devil like the stew in Elisha's day. May the many in our land have eyes to see that what the world is offering them is death in the pot, death in the pot. Give them life that is truly life. Lead us not into temptation. Keep us in the love of God.
Make us like oaks of righteousness, strong, sturdy, bearing fruit, and remind us, O Lord, that we do not wrestle ultimately against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities. And they would love to turn us against one another. They would love to turn our eyes off of Christ. They would love to turn us to hate our enemies. But we follow the Lord Jesus who carried his cross, who did not revile when reviled.
And so may we never fight a spiritual battle in worldly ways. And even as we pray as we should for this earthly country, we ask that you would set our minds and our hearts on our heavenly home. For we have been reminded once again. We confess, we often forget that here we have no lasting city. We pray in the strong name of Jesus Christ, our present and coming King.
And we ask, even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, we pray. Amen.
