Election Morning Prayer

Gracious, powerful God, on this election day, we pray for our country. We ask that You give those who vote today Your wisdom.

We pray, too, that You give that same wisdom to Senators McCain, Biden, and Obama and to Governor Palin. Grant that they will use that wisdom to make sound decisions about how they conduct themselves on November 4, and in the years beyond.

We ask that You would provide to them and to their families, Your protection from all danger and harm each day.

We pray that You will guide us in our voting. Give to us the President that You will for us, the President that we need for us to collectively fulfill Your purposes.

After the votes have been counted and tabulated, make us one nation, united not uniform, agreeable and committed to what is best for one another even when we disagree.

Protect those Americans who this day are in harm's way in dangerous places, whether they are military personnel in places like Afghanistan or Iraq, diplomatic emissaries representing the US around the globe, Peace Corps volunteers acting as goodwill ambassadors for our country, or missionaries carrying the Good News of Jesus Christ to peoples remote from us.

Knowing that Your promises are true, God, we pray petitions our Lord Jesus taught us to pray: Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Guide all of our leaders and us as voters and citizens as we consider the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terrorism, economic turmoil, the need reform of our political and financial institutions, finding alternatives to abortion as a method of birth control, encouraging mutual responsibility and accountability within the American and world communities, global warming, finding alternative energy sources, unemployment, urban sprawl, equality for all of our citizens, having the courage to stand up to tyrants, and enacting health care reform, to name just a few. Remind us again and again of Jesus' words, "Without Me, you can do no good thing" and "With God, all things are possible."

Keep our citizens safe as they vote. Grant that they will also stand in lines for as long as necessary, remembering that voting is a special privilege.

And at the end of the day, help us to remember that we are not just Americans, but children of God, created in Your image, called and commanded to love You with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors, all of our neighbors, the world over, just as we love ourselves.

We pray all of these things in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen!