A Prayer

Isaiah 26:8–14 ESV

“In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them. O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance. They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.“

Other Lords have indeed ruled over us. We did not choose to ban the bible in schools, we did not choose to permit abortions, we did not choose to legalize homosexuality, or to criticize biblical values. These were decided by a unSupreme Court in rebellion against You. They made us slaves of government instead of a free and self-governing people. Nevertheless, the church, your body, was complacent: trading prosperity and pursuit of comfort for righteousness. We were silent when these evils were forced upon us. We compromised with the world and the state instead of resisting the gates of hell. Falling for Balaam’s poison, we gave in to immorality and conformed to the tempting offer of this world to abandon ourselves to sensual lusts. We have aborted your children, who are made in the image of God; we have engaged in adultery, both in mind and in fact, we have used pornography and we have allowed child and sex trafficking, abuse and pedophilia, as our nation has wandered away from you. Therefore, O Lord, we come today to repent of our compromise with evil and to join with others around the world, to ask forgiveness and to rededicate our nation to You, Jesus Christ, God Our Father and You Holy Spirit. You the Triune and one and only God.  Save us O Lord, for we are an unworthy people, but You who are full of grace and mercy, are our only hope and savior. Cleanse us first as the Body of Christ and heal our Land. Expose all wickedness and evil and turn us back to a nation that honors God and your Word. Give us the blessing of the fear of the Lord, that we would not displease you. Rescue, O Lord, the lost and abused and the victims of our wickedness. Heal our Land, we pray, In the Name of Jesus, our Lord.