A Prayer For Our Nation

I got this in an email today and thought it was too good NOT to share. The Prayer of Repentance This is the text of the original prayer delivered January 23, 1996 by Pastor Joe Wright to the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance.

We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. 

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.

We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.

We have abused power and called it political savvy.

We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state.

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

After receiving thousands of angry emails when asked about it he stated: "I was talking TO God, not them....the whole point was to say we ALL have sins that we need to repent-all of us.....The problem I guess is you're not supposed to get to specific when talking about sin."


While the prayer was given to Kansas, I do believe it could be given to any state, to the nation, and to the world.

What part of No do you not understand??`

A couple of weeks ago I received a call on my cellphone from a number I didn't recognize.  Usually I don't answer those, but I was bored, so thought why not.  Turns out it was some company trying to sell me a remodeling estimate because somewhere I had signed up for it.  Now, I may very well have done so, but I NEVER give out my cellphone number, so I was skeptical to begin with.  Then they gave me a p.o. box address and it was then that the red lights went off.  I politely said no thank you, I'm not interested and ended the call.

Now, most normal people would think that would be the end of it...right??  Well, you would be mistaken with this company.  Not only did they call me back, they called me back every day, sometimes twice a day, for a week.  Oh, but they were sneaky, because they used a different number every time and when I didn't answer they would call back on yet another number.  The other problem I had was they didn't speak very good English, so that was yet another strike against them.

Every time they called I went through the same speil: I'm not interested, I didn't sign up, remove my number and stop calling me.  It was frustrating and towards the end of the week I didn't even wait for them to say anything, as soon as they said my name I gave them the speil, the volume level of my voice raising each time.  Now,  I'm not a confrontational person but they were trying my last nerve!

After a week of no calls I figured I had finally gotten through to them.....I would be wrong.  I got one last call trying to sell me a remodeling estimate and I lost it.  I all but yelled at them the same speil and emphasized that they were calling my cellphone and using up my minutes.  I didn't even let the poor person speak, as soon as he asked my name with that now VERY familiar accent I interrupted him and when I was done hung up.  I guess they finally got the message because it's been several weeks now and no more calls.

But if they do call back.....I'm ready for them!