As devout Christians, our founding fathers began a tradition of beginning each of their meetings with prayer. That time-honored tradition has been passed down through the ages with Congress, state legislatures and local government entities beginning their sessions with prayer. Some years back a prayer offered at the opening of a State Legislature received much attention from some legislators and the media. The minister seemed to touch some nerves with his moving and heartfelt prayer. It seemed to have offended some, but it was appropriate in light of the issues that legislators are being confronted with today. It may not have been a “politically correct” prayer, but I think God is more interested in the heart of the one praying as opposed to what a few politicians think of the prayer. The prayer was as follows… “Heavenly Father we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your word in the name of ‘moral pluralism.’ We have worshipped other gods and called it ‘multi-culturalism’. We have endorsed perversion and called it ‘an alternative lifestyle’. We have exploited the poor and called it ‘a lottery’. We have neglected the needy and called it ‘self-preservation’. We have rewarded laziness and called it ‘welfare’. In the name of ‘choice’, we have killed our unborn. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it ‘building esteem’. We have abused power and called it ‘political savvy’. We’ve coveted our neighbors’ possessions and called it ‘taxes’. We’ve polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it ‘freedom of expression’. We ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it ‘enlightenment’. Search us, oh God and know our hearts today. Try us, and show us any wickedness 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, and who have been ordained by You to govern our states. Grant them Your wisdom to rule, and may their decision direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!” Wow! What a prayer, how it fits today. My prayer to God is that He would give us representatives at state and national levels that would from the heart echo a hearty amen to such a prayer, and grant them God given faith and backbone to take such a stand: to put it the words of another, “and to say NO to the vampire of injustice, corruption, immorality, and sin that are sucking the lifeblood out of our nation.” Amen and Amen.
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