A Prayer for Saturday, June 14, 2014

Leaders

O God,

Bless

our President, his Cabinet, and his staff,
our Senators, our Congresspersons, and their staffs,
the leaders of other nations, be they friend or foe,

and everyone else who has the awesome and awful
responsibility of making decisions that impact
thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of people.

Thank you for those leaders who seek your wisdom.
Give them humility that will keep them from assuming
that you guide them to and bless every decision that they make.
Guard them from arrogance that leads them to believe that
because they seek your wisdom they are always right.
Give them insight into and commitment to the kind of righteousness
that is characterized by a humble walk with you
and by the kind of justice
that seeks equity and fairness,
that does not favor those who have the most and can spend the most,
and that cares about the needs of those who are
the most vulnerable,
the least powerful,
and the most voiceless among us.

As for those leaders who do not seek your wisdom, give it to them anyway.
Like you did with Cyrus of old, use them, even despite themselves, to further your purposes.

Amen.