Opinion: A prayer for our country we call America
Dear Jesus, with sincere gratitude we humbly thank you for life in general. We realize that the spiritual climate may not be the best as we speak, but nevertheless we thank you because it could have easily been worse. Allow us, dear Lord, to thank you for performing the ultimate sacrifice on the hill called Mount Calvary, Golgotha, the place of the skull. We knew then and we know now that your blood will never lose its power.
We praise you for being king of kings and Lord of Lords. You are the great I Am, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. You are the author and finisher of our faith; without you, we are nothing. For in you we live and move and have our being. You live in our praise; our mouth heralds your purposes within the land. Our cups runneth over because of your mercies which are renewed every day; surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.
Lord, we enter into your presence right now on behalf of this country we call America. The country in which you declared independence from all other countries over two centuries ago. We have lost our way as a nation, and we are praying to remain in good standing with you. We repent as a nation for all of the wrongs we have done. We ask forgiveness for the deception and lifelong imprisonment to the Native Americans. We took their land and placed them in the desert to live. We ask you to forgive us for alienating early religious groups that came to this country looking for the same religious freedom to praise God. We ask you to forgive us for enslaving Africans, indigenous and other ethnic groups of people. We realize that we have reached the point as a nation that we cannot cover up our sins anymore. So we pray at this hour that the ruler of the universe have mercy on us as a nation and forgive us. Cleanse us, and enable us to start afresh and renewed.
We petition you, Lord, on behalf of the agitated people in this nation that has turned city streets into battle fields. We pray for peace in the streets of Georgia, D.C., Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and every other state undergoing civil unrest. We come together now as a body of believers all across this nation. We ask for a breakthrough resolution between policemen and citizens, between mayors and governors, Republicans and Democrats, Blacks and whites, in the matchless name of the Almighty God. You said in your word to "ask and ye shall receive," so we ask for police reform, new policies and procedures, more accountabilities and law-abiding citizens throughout the land. We ask you to place a buffer on our coastlines to deter hurricanes, tropical storms, etc. Tighten the earth and place earthquakes at rest, extinguish fires with raindrops from heaven from the West Coast to the East Coast.
We declare and decree by the power that you have granted unto us victory over COVID-19. We thank you for decreasing the number of COVID-19-related deaths all over the nation and world, even in the midst of the approaching cold and flu season. We speak life over those individuals who have been written off in hospitals all across America. We pray for your protection over all grade school and collegiate students. Protect them from vigilantes, terrorists, diseases and all other demonic attacks.
Then, Lord, we thank you for the media who cover and print unbiased truthful material that will provide a sense of hope to its readers and viewers. Please bless our nation!
We pray this prayer in the name of the righteous one, Jesus the Christ.
AMEN!
Sam Livingston is pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.