A Prayer to Unite the States of America

We the people are gonna need a minute.

We the people have to catch our breath.

Because we know the truth but it’s hard to remember in the midst of the headlines and round-the-clock coverage.

In silence, we begin to hear again the familiar rhythm of what we believe.

Our trust rests not upon the shoulders of those who sit in Oval rooms but in the hands of One who lives in human hearts.

You are our hopeful vision.

You are our hearts true home.

Still, the oval-room leaders represent us in the world. Oh that they would hold the office with care, with reverence, and humility.

And may we, the people, do the same.

Even as our eyes are trained on outcomes in Washington, may we not forget the ground where we stand with our own tasks before us.

May we hold our own responsibilities with the same care, reverence, and humility we ask from our leaders.

May we use our voice to speak up and stand with even if we stand out.

May we not underestimate the power of a kind word, an open conversation, and a loosely held agenda.

You have made us to bear Your image in the world. You are the Creator, and so we set our minds to create as if it were our highest calling. Because in many ways, it is.

We the people are the mothers, the lovers, the nighttime storytellers. We are the hopers, the fathers, and the harmonizers.

We are the visionaries, the silent supporters, the leaders and the background singers.

We the people are the servants, the musicians, and the politicians; the waiters, the washers, and the obstetricians. We are the thinkers and we are the believers.

We the people are the dust and the brushstroke, the poets and the poetry, the weak empowered, the broken made whole.

We are Your mirrors on earth, the megaphones of Your glory, the hands and eyes and hearts of heaven.

We the people are grieved but not hopeless, brought from darkness into Your light, given a new name, a new future, a new Power alive within us.

You are before all things and You hold all things together.

No matter what unfolds in the days to come, we the people are still made in Your image and asked to bear that image into the world.

You have told us what is good and what is required of us.

To do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with our God.

If you need help to catch your breath, sign up here for Still Moments, a week-long audio devotional I designed to help you create space for your soul to breathe in less than five minutes a day.

Portions of this post are taken from The Artist’s Manifesto in my book, A Million Little Ways.