Having endured major civil unrest a week and a half ago, our nation prepares for another important occasion in three days which may prompt even more unrest. We gather in praise of a God who watches over all nations and peoples, asking for the guidance of His spirit among all of us, and especially for our outgoing president and our president- and vice-president elect. Trusting that in all situations God’s will for us is both loving and benevolent, let us, with renewed confidence, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
Lord God, we pray for those for whom we regularly pray: those who are poor, sick, troubled, homeless, fearful, lonely, uprooted, newly bereaved, disabled, mentally unmoored, or who live in constant turmoil and warfare. As we have felt Thy presence among us when we have been greatly troubled, so we ask Thee to make Thy presence known to all who especially recognize their need of Thee or who desperately need Thee without ever having recognized it.
This day we pray for our severely-divided nation as we observe another quadrennial rite of passage in the inauguration of a new president and vice president. Imbue them with the strength, wisdom, courage, and optimism which only Thou canst provide. Calm their anxious hearts by the indwelling of Thy spirit in them. In the enormous challenges which face them, give them the necessary patience and persistence to strive to accomplish the many lofty goals they have set for themselves, but also the objectivity to recognize when those goals may become impossible to achieve. We acknowledge that rarely have two people been inaugurated into such monumental tasks as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and therefore we implore a unique measure of Thy presence to be with them as they begin their terms of office.
As we pray for our new leaders, we also pray for the two men who, on Wednesday, will leave the two highest offices in our land. Particularly we pray for President Trump in the profound combination of loss, anger, disappointment, and betrayal that he feels. Grant to his troubled mind the greatest measure of the peace that passes all understanding of which he is capable. We also ask Thee to be with his family in the painful mixture of thoughts and feelings with which they currently feel assaulted. Uphold the millions of devoted followers of the president, especially those for whom deep anger is the current most evident emotion they experience in their minds and hearts. God, bless America, for we imagine that at present no one is more needy of those blessings than we are. Give to us peace in our time, O Lord. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, who has led us into Thy presence and by whose teachings we attempt to govern our lives. Now we pray together as Jesus taught us, saying, Our Father….