This prayer was inspired by a visit to the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham last weekend and current national and world events in light of Matthew 1:17. “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.“
Oh Lord,
As I struggle with the injustices in world history, our country’s history, and in our day and time; the ravages of evil giving evidence of the fallenness of our world,
I pray you attune my heart to yours and renew my perspective that there is a larger story within which these tragedies are contained. This grand meta-narrative being overseen by the One who will not allow the unjust to go unpunished or the righteous to go unrewarded.
May I recognize the righteous remnant who labor in love for God and man on the earth with courageous conviction as they follow Christ. Like pinpricks of light shining through a dark tapestry, their Spirit-infused actions bear witness to the existence of a transcendent reality.
One day, all wrongs will be made right and justice, peace, truth, and love will, indeed, become an ever-present reality.
We long for that day, Lord. We long for your perfect shalom.
May your shalom live in us and manifest through us as we await the everlasting shalom of your eternal kingdom.
These things I pray in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit.
Amen.