A Prayer for the Divided States of America

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God, bless America.
Not because we deserve it.
Lord knows, we don't.

We have failed to live up to our potential.
We have denied equal rights
to those too-often wronged.
We have sacrificed godly principals
on the altar of personal privilege.
We have aborted life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness
in exchange for power.
We have pledged allegiance to a flag
we too often have used to envelop our faith.

Amid "Black Lives Matter" signs
and "Make America Great Again" ballcaps,
we have lost sight of that
on which our founders initially focused...
A land of the free
and a home of the brave.
Out of many, one.
One nation under God,
with liberty and justice for all.

God, as dehumanizing relics of our past
are removed from courthouse circles and city squares,
would You tear down the walls of hate
that continue to separate all those created in Your image.

But, lest we be short-sighted and impulsive prone,
give us courage to preserve those monuments
that call us to be the best version of ourselves.
A goal for which we truly long.

Revive us as we attempt to repair
the foundations of freedom's ramparts
that have cracked and begun to crumble
through disregard of another's rights
and the disobedience of Your demands.

Lord, restore our vision for unity.
Rekindle our compassion for humanity.
Redeem decades of partisan divisions
that have bankrupted our trust in one another.

Renew our bruised and broken spirits
that we might dare to dream again.
Remind us of the words
etched on the base of Lady Liberty.
That we exist to welcome those
for whom the flame of freedom has been extinguished...
The tired, the poor,
the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Gracious God,
on this 244th anniversary of our nation's birth,
as death has visited
more than 130,000 victims of COVID-19,
we humbly acknowledge our need of You.
Comfort the grieving as only You can.
Contain the contagion.
Heal the suffering.
Enable those who are feverishly seeking a vaccine.
Guide those who are charged with leading us.
May those live in the White House
(as well as those who live in the houses where we reside)
be aware of Your presence,
Your purpose and our accountability to You
for goodness sake. Amen.