Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In light of the high tension and anxiety regarding tomorrow’s inauguration and the state of our nation, I commend to you the following prayer:
“Dear Father in heaven, all power and authority in heaven and on earth belong to You and are given by You. We know that every authority has been established by You for the gracious protection of life and the punishment of wickedness. We confess that we have not always honored those in authority as You have commanded us in the Fourth Commandment and so we have not honored You. We have not prayed for our elected officials and only begrudgingly supported them. We have spoken ill of them. For these and our many other sins, we deserve Your just punishment. Have mercy upon us for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and forgive us for our sins. The unrest and deep division that have gripped our nation reveal our idolatry and lovelessness. We cry to You for mercy and ask that You would bring peace to this land. Bless our leaders with wisdom, humility, and faithfulness. Bless our new President and Vice President and all those newly elected with health and integrity and a love of the truth. Bring to nothing the plans of those who seek to do harm and those who seek to silence Your Word. Forgive us for putting our trust in men rather than in You. Turn our hearts in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another and help us to seek those things that are above. Let Your truth be boldly proclaimed in this and every land that the salvation You have prepared for all men in Jesus Christ would shine like a bright light in the darkness of this present age. Preserve Your children in the true faith and bring us safely to everlasting life. Through the same, Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”
The peace of Christ be with you,
Pastor Ulmer==