There are dark places in this country, Lord. Please open our eyes to see. And give us courage to act so that we may shine the light of your goodness and mercy into those spaces.

There are hurting people in this nation, Lord. Please open our hearts to feel. And give us the vision and the initiative to provide comfort and healing and peace.

There are divisions in this country, Lord. Please unite your Church. And bring us together in worship and service so the people of this land will know that you are God.

There is sin in the United States, Lord. Please open our souls to live and work together as your people in this nation. Compel us by your Spirit to forgive others, to love our enemies, to sacrifice and suffer in putting the needs of others ahead of our own, to point our neighbors to the glory of your great Name and to the free gift of salvation in your Son by the ways we truly care.

Wake us up, Lord. Give us a renewed awareness of the pain and the problems around us. We pray for healing, Father, for our families, for our churches, for our country. Send your Holy Spirit, God, to work in us and through us for the sake of this nation. And may your holy will be done in and through your Church in the United States — through your children here, through those of us who call your Son our only Lord — just as it is in heaven.

In the name of our risen and coming Lord Jesus.

Amen.