A prayer for our country

With all the controversy that is happening in our country today. I offer a prayer for our country. I did not write this prayer. This controversial prayer was originally written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He delivered it at a Governor’s prayer breakfast in Frankfort, Kentucky. In January 23, 1996 Rev. Joe Wright, senior pastor of the 2,500-member Central Christian Church in Wichita offered revised and offered this prayer to the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka. The prayer stirred controversy among the law makers. This prayer is very much fitting not only the leaders of our country but for all of us as well.

This is the text of the original prayer delivered on January 23, 1996 by Pastor Joe Wright

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance.

We know your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we’ve done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.

We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.

We have abused power and called it political savvy.

We have coveted our neighbors’ possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state.

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

This phrase is certainly worth adding in the prayer (Considering our situation in the Philippines)

We have given bribes to people in government, corrupted our public officials, assisted in the miscarriage of justice, received bribes from the people, failed to pay our proper taxes, lied, and cheated and yet we call it as “Standard Operating Procedure (S.O.P)” or we excuse ourselves that “Everybody is doing it.”

May we as a people repent of our ways in order that this country may be healed