a prayer for freedom

God of all ages, God of all places, God of all times and eternity,
Whose almighty hand has crafted and formed every people,
Whose gracious guidance has provided
rare and profound opportunities for our own nation,
help us all to understand our celebrations this July 4th holiday.

Help us to know how freedom
is to be more fully wrought
for all of Your children, here and elsewhere,
day by day by day.

Inspire us to see freedom
not as the right to do as we please,
but as new occasions to be pleased
to do what is right and good.

Lead us, O God, so that our trust in You
is not merely stamped upon our money
but expressed fully in our lives.

Help us to understand that liberty is made manifest best
by seeking Your will of peace and goodwill for one and all.

Give us courage to fend off all worldly fears,
especially the fear of standing in singular fashion
for the rights of humanity,
since that is how we were born.

As we have been made prosperous,
make us also good.
As we have been preserved in freedom,
preserve us also by justice.

And, dear Lord of our Lives, as we have been kept free,
will we now be kept true?
As we have become rich in things,
will we now become richer still in principles and munificence?

We pray this prayer with fervent hope
that we shall know Your truth
and it shall truly set us free. AMEN.

...Bob Hill from Life's Too Short for Anything But Love, Woodneath Press

---

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.