2020 contained a series of events which threw me for a loop. As everyone says, what we experienced was “unprecedented.” I saw things happen which I never expected to see. I often felt like I was living in some kind of Dystopian novel or watching a far fetched movie about some distant future.
Then we entered a new year and I hoped the string of unfortunate events was over. Or at least those which were “unprecedented.”
The last week taught me otherwise.
When life gets flipped upside down and I feel overwhelmed and helpless, I do the only thing I know to do: pray. So I sat down and cried out to the King of Kings.
A Prayer to the King of Kings
Father in heaven,
I come before you filled with shock and grief. Watching the news unfold as people stormed the Capitol was devastating. It was surreal, like I was watching a movie. It is hard to believe how our nation has plummeted into so much anger and disunity over the past year, and in the case of last week, lawlessness. These past months, I’ve grieved the division and finger pointing and lines drawn in the sand. I’ve felt sorrow and heartache almost every time I scrolled through social media or watched the evening news. Yet, I also can believe all that has happened. The sin nature we inherited from our first parents means humanity is capable of far worse than we can imagine. It also means sin isn’t something over there, outside of us, or only in those we disagree with; it is in all of us.
So, I come before you, the King of Kings. For you alone rule over the nations. You alone are the supreme sovereign over all things. In your hand, the hearts of kings are as a stream of water; you turn it where you will. You are also the source and fountain of grace. You shower the rain down over both the just and unjust. You provide food for needy. You sustain every living thing. You know the end from the beginning and determine all things. Not a hair falls from my head apart from your will.
Forgive me for my worries and fears as I consider the future to come. As I worry about where our nation is headed. As I fear the ripple effects of all that has occurred. As I fear for the state of the church, your Bride. Forgive me for my forgetfulness, for forgetting that You are King and ruler over all. You are not surprised by the events of last year or of last week. You never left your throne or yielded your scepter to another. Forgive me for my self-righteousness and pride, for forgetting that I am saved by grace alone, not by anything I have done. Forgive me for failing to love others as myself— for failing to see the sorrow and pain in those around me and acting to relieve it. Forgive me for not being a light in the darkness, not living for you in this world.
Father, I pray for awakened hearts and minds. Only you can do this. Only you can give ears to those who need to hear the gospel. I pray you would transform hearts and lives. I pray you would bring peace and unity. I pray you would restrain evil by your common grace. Help me to trust that even when things seem the darkest, you are at work. You always fulfill your purposes.
Help me not to fear but to trust in you as my King. Help me to remember my citizenship is in heaven. Help me to live for you and your glory, not for my own. Help me to keep my gaze fixed not on the news or on the opinions of others or on idols which inevitably fail, but on Jesus Christ, who alone is my salvation. May the truths of the gospel be the rock upon which I stand.
Protect and preserve your church. Help us to be salt and light. Help us to stand for truth. Help us to love our communities well. Grant church leaders with wisdom and discernment. Raise up godly leaders to shepherd your people. Shower your grace upon our pastors as they endure more criticism, discouragement, and hardship than we likely know. Help us to follow in the steps of Jesus in all that we say and do.
And my most fervent request: Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Return and make all things right and new.
Until that day, I pray all this in Jesus’ name, amen.
