This past Sunday, January 10th, we led Graefenburg Baptist Church in a prayer of lament for the violence at our nation’s Capitol. It was a simple prayer, drawn in part from the Sermon on the Mount, and included a corporate prayer of confession. I have included the prayer and my opening comments below.
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I would like for us to respond to the preaching of the word through a corporate prayer of lament and hopeful expectation concerning the recent violence at our nation’s Capitol and the future of our country. Pastor Dylan has beautifully described the universal desire for happiness that will be fully realized with the return of the eternal King, Jesus Christ. Our hearts break for what has happened, but they break with hope for what is to come.
Let our prayer serve as a reminder that the citizens of the Kingdom of God are bound by a radically different ethic than the kingdom of the world. It is an ethic established, modeled, and expected by our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is an ethic where…
We radically love those who radically oppose us.
We travel an extra mile for those who would not travel an inch for us.
We place the highest priority on mercy and meekness.
We determine to be light and salt in a world of darkness and death.
We rejoice and are thankful in all circumstances…
…for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us pray:
Congregation:
We lament, oh Sovereign Lord, the tragic display of violence at the Capitol this past week, and our hearts are broken over the division and distrust among our fellow citizens.
We confess, oh gracious Savior, our sins and our rebellion against You. Search us, we pray, so that we may speak our transgressions into the promise of your forgiveness.
Pastor:
Save us, oh God, as we sink deep into the mire, where there is no foothold.
We are weary and we are crying; our eyes grow dim as we wait on You.
We plead with you, as the only God of our salvation, to hear and answer our prayers:
Pastor:
That violence would give way to understanding
Congregation:
Lord, hear our prayer
Pastor:
That aggression would give way to gentleness
Congregation:
Lord, hear our prayer
Pastor:
That arrogance would give way to humility
Congregation:
Lord, hear our prayer
Pastor:
That despair would give way to hope
Congregation:
Lord, hear our prayer
We acknowledge and believe that You are the only hope for our church, for our country, and for our world.
May the grace of your Son – our Lord Jesus Christ – be known by all.
Amen.
