On Memorial Day we pray …
5/25/2009 9:01:46 AM
Holy God, You are the God of all time and all places, and Your Word promises that one day every nation under heaven will declare Your name. But today is not yet that day. Your Word promises that one day peace will reign in human hearts, the lion and the lamb will lie down together, and war will be no more. But today is not yet that day. O God, today we bow humbly before Your throne of grace and mercy, desiring peace, justice and liberty for all people. Even so, we acknowledge that because of human sin, today is not yet that day.
Dear God, we give you thanks today for men and women in every generation who have willingly walked into harm’s way in order that we might enjoy the liberties so many others only dream of. We pray today that you will continue to heal their memories, bless their sacrifice and honor their service. We pray, also, for those families who have lost sons and daughters in war. May they be remembered in this life, even as they are entrusted to You in the life they now live forevermore.
And we pray for those who even now are standing in harm’s way for us. We pray for servicemen and women deployed around the globe. O God, be their hedge of protection, provide for them Your constant watch care. Keep them safe, draw them unto Yourself, and work out Your will in and through them. Be with their families today, and give them the confident hope that comes from placing our lives fully in Your hands.
Today, Lord God, lead us to live lives that are worthy of the calling of Christ, knowing that today would be the day that His name is declared through us. We ask that today would be the day that peace reigns through us. That today would be the day that Your will is worked out in us. That today would be the day. Amen.
Prayers of the people: