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A Christian Prayer Post-Inauguration

O God, we, who are Christians and call the United States home, confess that ours is a deeply divided nation. We witnessed the peaceful transition of political power this weekend, but many of us are deeply concerned for the future of our democratic institutions. We inaugurated a new President, yet many of us are deeply mistrustful of him. Many of us protested, and as we did many others of us took offense. We gathered and marched this weekend, O God, but we did not gather and march together. Hear our prayer.
Help us, O God, to heal the wounds and divisions that run through our nation, our neighborhoods, places of worship, and families. Stir up in us a new depth of care and concern for friends and loved ones who marched when we were resting, who rejoiced when we were downcast, who are lining up even now on different sides of the causes we care deeply about. Help us stick with relationships marked by strong differences of opinion, so long as these relationships do not cause us harm.
We long to discover common ground, O God, but let us not be tempted by shortcuts. Help us hold fast to the understanding that true peace comes not from the absence of conflict, but from the presence of justice. Give us patience, instead, for the long pursuit that will take us some day to the higher ground of your kingdom, a place beyond where any of us are presently able to see.
We, who claim the Christian faith, O God, recognize our distinctive place in the history of this nation. We ask that you would forgive us for when we have embraced our privilege at the expense of others, and we pray that you would make us sensitive to the needs of those who do not share our faith. Give us eyes to see the contributions of all from every tradition who have made - and our now desiring to make - their own unique contributions to our unfolding national experiment.
Above all, O God, we pray that you would keep us faithful to our pledge to place you first in our hearts and lives. As grateful as we may be for our own nation, remind us as often as we need reminding that you are the God of all times and all places and all peoples, that you look with compassion on all your children, and that you are always and everywhere working for good in the world.
We ask in the name of Jesus, whose birth our Scriptures tell us was celebrated by poor Jewish shepherds and wandering Gentile kings, who defied the expectations of all in his teaching and healing, and whose death and resurrection make manifest the joyful news that you will not give up on us, your oh-so-human children.
Amen.

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