The Grace of Those Who Have Given Their Lives for our Country

On this Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, as taps play across our Country, as our hearts beat synchronously with each note, let us deeply thank all those who have given their lives defending and honoring the United States of America.

Let us acknowledge that their death was always untimely, that their lives were taken on the open seas, in desert lands, in barracks meant to protect, and in moments of horror, often without warning.  Let us remember the courage of each soldier and the fear he or she must have felt, yet onward each of them marched, on our behalf.  Let us remember the hopes they must have carried in their hearts for their life’s plan and the heavy weight of war that ravaged those plans.  Let us remember the loss of wisdom, intelligence and energy to our Country’s bank of knowledge, because of their early demise.

Let us also remember every tear shed by every bereaved parent, grandparent, sibling and sons and daughters.  Let us remember the children who never got to know their Father or Mother.  Let us acknowledge the ongoing pain of family members in their grief and ask God for His Healing Light.

Let us pray, today, for our serving Veterans, all across our Nation and all across the world.  Let us also ask God’s Blessings on those who are maimed and/or suffering because of injuries to body and mind.  Let us ask God for their continued safekeeping, for their health and welfare.

 

Let us pray for peace.

“America, America, God shed His Grace on Thee….”

The Grace of Prayer

The theme for the National Day of Prayer (May 2, 2013) is the scripture passage: “And in His name Gentiles will trust.” (Matthew 12:21)

Dear Lord,

Today we take time out of our busy schedules to reflect, to humble ourselves, and to pray.

It is in You that we place our trust.

In this modern era, we are bombarded with communications, media, technology and a fast pace of living.  It is often hard to calm ourselves, to stand still in silence, to let all the noise turn to quiet.

Today, let us stop the process.  Instead,

Let us acknowledge our neighbor who is without a job and ask for opportunities to arise.

Let us be cognizant of those with financial burdens and ask that their weight be lifted.

Let us remember those who are ill and/or hospitalized and ask for their healing.

Let us acknowledge our soldiers serving around the world and ask for their safe keeping.

Let us remember the children who go to school hungry and ask that their hunger be fed.

Let us validate those who experience abuse, children and adults, and ask for Your mercy.

Let us be cognizant of the aged, the crippled, those who suffer from mental illness, those who are blind, deaf or hearing impaired, and ask for Your blessings upon them.

Let us think about those who feel lost or shunned in our world and ask for their acceptance.

Let us validate those who cannot see a future and ask that they find hope.

Let us honor our fellow Americans who were maimed or who perished at the hands of violence in the past year, especially those impacted by the recent bombings in Boston, MA.

Let us recall those who wish harm on others and ask that they be shown Your Light.

Let us appreciate the world we live in and ask that we be better stewards.

Let us recognize our Governmental stewards and ask for Your guidance upon them.

Let us remember those who experienced damage or loss due to weather occurrences and ask for Your care.

Let us acknowledge all people around the world and ask for Your blessings upon them.

Let us be cognizant of those without freedom and ask that their control be lifted.

Lord, please help us to remember that we are all interconnected, we are all souls who are on this earth to learn and to grow and that we are much deeper than our exterior selves.  Please help us to let go of our ego, the need to be right and/or the need to hold power over others; instead, let us humble ourselves and offer lovingkindness to one another.

Our Nation has seen so much strife, yet violence continues.  The sadness of parents in Newtown, CT; the shock experienced by athletes in the Boston Marathon and the heartbreak from loss of children and young adults on our city streets must come to an end.  In each of these cases, individuals were simply living life.  As a Nation, we can do better than this; we must do better than this.

Our society, even amidst all this chaos and tragedy, offers so much more.  Small children and young adults do beautiful things in our communities.  Many adults extend themselves in various ways to better our society.  Please make that love of others, that energy, outshine the horrific acts of a small few.

Dear Lord, we thank you for so many gifts and place our trust in You today.  Thank you for sustaining us, for bringing us toward Your Light, for helping us to make good choices that impact all of us.  As we go about our day today, please bless us, please open our hearts to how we can each better ourselves so that the ripple effect of those good deeds provides a much better world for everyone.

In Your Name and with our gratitude.