A rooftop view of Geneva, Switzerland, July 2019

Dear Gracious and Awesome God,

Thank You for Your love. Thank You for not giving up on us. We thank You for looking past our inconsistencies and our deficiencies and blessing us anyhow! In spite of our flaws, in spite of our imperfections, You do not cast us aside. Instead, You envelop us with Your lovingkindness and tender mercies. Thank You!

We recognize today that if we had ten thousand tongues, we could not thank You enough for all that You’ve done for us. When we reflect on Your goodness, our hearts leap with joy and gratefulness! The way You show up in our lives leaves us in awe of You! Even in our most difficult moments, we can call on Your Name and know that You will harken Your ear to our cries!

Today we lift up our nation to You. In so many ways, we are in trouble and in need of help, O God. We know that bad decisions by our leaders can have deadly consequences. We know that leaders who operate purely out of selfish ambition and without regard for Your people can cause a rippling effect that negatively impacts generations. We pray for our leaders today.  Have mercy, O God!

We ask that You give our leaders on every level, local, statewide and national, a heart for Your people — all of Your people. We pray that they will embody public service and not self-service. We pray that they will create and advocate for policies that will not just help the richest and privileged among us, but the poor, the orphan, the widow, the most vulnerable. Those, O God, you have called the least of these. Prick their hearts. Change their priorities. Give them wisdom and insight. Touch their minds and alter their agendas, we pray.

We also pray that we would not abdicate our own responsibility to hold our leaders accountable and to help our neighbors. Give us a heart to serve. When we find ourselves in leadership positions, help us to lead responsibly. Let us show up in the places and spaces we are needed. Adjust our focus so that we can see both our needs and those of our neighbors. Help us to look out for the interests of others and not just our own. Help us to bring positive transformation to our communities because so many desperately need it right now!

We further pray for Your covering and Your protection. Your word lets us know that there will be wars and rumors of wars. Deliver us from evil. Shield us from being the collateral damage of egotistical leaders wielding power unnecessarily and irresponsibly. Help them to feel the weight of every decision they make that will impact others. Let no decision be made lightly. Let Your kingdom coming be evident all around us. Let there be peace — visible, tangible peace in our homes, communities, nation, and throughout our global village, we pray.

And, for those who do not know Your peace and for whom calling You good, gracious, merciful, awesome, seems like empty words; we pray that they would encounter You this day. We pray that they would know You intimately. We pray that they would experience You and know Your love, peace, and joy for themselves. For those seeking to be leaders, we pray that they would not do so at all costs but with humility, integrity, and purity of heart and motivations.

In the Name of Jesus, whose love abides in us and who promised to be with us always even to the end of the age, we pray and ask these things. Amen.