A Post-Election Prayer

From Andrew Faris at "Christians in Context": A Post-Election Prayer

There have been a slew of good prayers for the election and I make no claim to have prayed the best prayer. But I figure of all the reactions that we could have about this (and any other) election, prayer is probably the best. So I here submit my own post-election prayer:

Jesus, King of All Creation, You are the King of the heavens and earth, King over all nations, and the King over America. No government rules of its own power, but only the power that you give it. May we recognize that above all, you are the only sovereign; that you are the only one we call "Lord."

As Christians, we are citizens first of heaven and the kingdom of God. Given the grand scales of the cosmos, of the whole earth, and most importantly, of eternity, this election matters little. Teach us to focus on glorifying your name as our number one civic duty. That is the only mission you have given your church, and that mission will go on no matter who the president is. Our only prayer is that whatever Barack Obama does as president, it will somehow be used by you to allow your church opportunities to do that. Show us our sin and your grace in the cross, Lord.

Teach us to preach the gospel to our culture, not to preach morality to it. Teach us to love the marginalized, not to neglect them in favor of seeking financial gain. Teach us to listen to your Spirit, not to the prevailing voices of our culture. Teach us to read your Word more carefully and passionately than the news. Teach us, your Church, to be a community of sacrificial, Jesus-centered love. These are what mark us as citizens of heaven.

We pray for President-elect Obama. Give him wisdom as he leads, the courage to stick to the convictions he should, and the humility to change views when he knows he is wrong. We pray especially that his tenure as president would lead to help for those most in need.

We praise you as the God to whom one day all kings and presidents will down, and we ask that these things be done by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the overflowing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.