Gracious, Merciful, Sovereign God, Lord of all nations,
On this Memorial Day weekend, we pause to reflect upon our blessings as a nation and the high cost of those blessings. We lift a prayer of thanks and intercession.
Lord,
Thank you for those who have served in the armed forces of our country, risking their lives for our liberty, and especially for those who, across the centuries, have given their lives in service to our country. Sacrificing in the most costly way for the sake of others, for us.
Thank you for a day set apart, not just for celebration of our freedoms, but for solemn remembrance as we consider the sacrifices of so many. You are the shield around us through the men and women who wear this nation’s uniform. We ask that you fill our hearts with gratitude for the heroes you place among us.
We pray today for the families and friends of those who have given their lives in service to our nation. Be with the countless friends, the tens of thousands of mothers and fathers, and surviving spouses and children in our midst. May they be comforted in their sadness and heartbreak. Hold their wounded hearts in your wounded hands that heal.
In a hard-hearted world renew our minds and soften our hearts, Lord.
May we be more aware and thankful of just how blessed we are. May we be more faithful and active as stewards of the blessings of our citizenship in both this realm and the heavenly realm.
In an atmosphere mired in and often idolatrous of the violence of the pen, the violence of the tongue and the violence of action, renew us, sanctify us, set us apart. Make us the peacekeepers, the love and hope givers, the grace speakers, the Gospel of Christ proclaimers You have called us to be.
You did not come into this world to be served, but to serve, to the point of death on the cross. Your love is a consuming fire. Consume us and make us new, that we might shine your light in the darkness. Pour out your love through your Word, that we might practice true worship through the self-sacrificial loving of our neighbors. Make us your hands and feet. Make us agents of your reign of love, grace, and mercy.
May your kingdom come, Lord, and your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.