Lord God, we bow before Thee at the end of a turbulent week in the life of our nation and in our own lives. A special election has resulted in a congressional transfer of power. Half our people are alarmed by that, and the other half are joyful. All of us are concerned by events which occurred the day after that election, which have overshadowed the major changes these events portend. Now we are suddenly a nation afflicted by fear, animosity, and recriminations, and we seem even more incapable of unanimity than before this past week brought the great calamity that confronts us.
Heavenly Father, we pray for those who felt obligated to take measures because of what happened in our nation’s capitol building, when inevitably there will be fierce divisions over what, specifically, should be done. May people in power judge wisely and fairly in their decisions, and may those decisions help to bring calm to us rather than further rancor. We pray for the Members of Congress in the momentous steps they may now feel compelled to take. Help them to listen carefully to the people and to one another, never losing sight of the humanity in their political adversaries. We pray especially for our president, now immersed more than ever in the serious controversy which has engulfed him throughout his four years as president.
Because the president is our highest elected official, and represents all of us, we ask that Thou wouldst powerfully calm his troubled spirit as we ask also Thee to calm our own spirits. As disappointed as many of his supporters are because of his most recent behavior, may they also experience the indwelling of Thy presence within them. As angry as other citizens are because of what the president has done, we pray that somehow they may learn to forgive him for all his transgressions, and especially for the choices he made four days ago which have created such havoc in our dismayed country. We pray too for the president- and vice-president-elect as they prepare for their inauguration. Because we know that Thy power working in us and through us can overcome obstacles we might have thought impossible, may the current president leave office quietly and gracefully and the new president and vice-president enter their offices confidently and hopefully, trusting that Thou wilt be with be with them every step of the way in the years ahead. Without Thee we are completely lost, but with Thee we can chart new paths and blaze new trails. Bless the United States of America in a time of profound unpredictability and uncertainty. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who returns to us again and again in the times of our deepest distress. Now together we pray the prayer he taught us, saying, Our Father….