Prayer for the Nation in Time of Terrorism

We come to you, O God, with the words of thanksgiving on our lips as the expression of our hearts.  Your gifts are as varied as our needs and desires.  We need love and You have given us families and friends to bless our days.  Our minds crave light and knowledge, and Your Spirit kindles a lamp within us.  We long for visions of beauty, and You have revealed yourself to us in the openness and colorfulness of nature.  Your works inspire us to sing your praises.

Yet even as we worship, there is a restlessness in our lives, disturbing the serenity that trust in Jesus Christ promises to bring.  Help us to understand the contrast between what is superficial and what is deep, between what is troublesome and that which fills the heart with peace, between futile worry and honest concern.

Our Father, in the confusion and chaos of the past weeks, we search for answers, we long for solutions, people cry out against terrorism and senseless killings, and human life is so cheap for the ruthless; we lift our hearts and voices asking for your spirit to invade our world in a new power to change the way we are.

Save us from doom and discouragement and point us to the positive and glorious things you have given the world.  Rescue, O God, the victims of injustice, cruelty, hunger, nakedness, and the perils of living in fear and want.

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