The Lord's Prayer

The words of Jesus in John 17.20-26 (NIV):

My prayer is not for them alone.

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Righteous Father, thought the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.

I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

A Prayer for Our Country

Father, a new day has begun. My country has chosen a new path, new leadership. Father, I pray that the days that follow will represent not merely a changing of policy and governance, but a changing of the sectarian spirit that has pervaded in this country for too long. Father, may this new day be for us an opportunity to leave the strife behind and to come together as one nation, unified in the endeavor to lift the spirits and conditions and potential of all men and women, old and young.

Father, the one who has been chosen to lead this land was not my choice, but help me to be humble and committed to the well-being of the great nation. Help me to be respectful and to be a good citizen, to not stand in the way stubbornly, but to be patient and productive.

Father, bless our new leaders. May they seek your guidance and strength. May our nation be an honor to you. May you continue to bless us with your grace.