Reprint: A Prayer for the Obama Inauguration

This is the second of a two-part series of reprints. Today, I present a prayer by the Rev. Marilyn E. Thornton:



Prayer for the Obama Inauguration (Based on Psalm 26)

You are the judge, O LORD. We beseech your blessings on the inauguration of President-Elect, Barack Obama. We thank you that he is a man of integrity, who walks in wholeness, in your Shalom. We trust you, O God. Surround him with wise counsel and prevent him from stumbling. "Lead him and guide him along the way, for if you lead he cannot stray!"

We know that there will be many tests and temptations. Let the fire of justice and purity burn in his conscience and in his heart. Give him discernment, LORD, as he keeps his eyes upon you, imitating your loving kindness toward the people, as he walks and talks in your truth. "Let not his feet wander from the place where he met you!"

We thank you, God, for protecting him from those who would operate deceptively. Keep him separated from those of the assembly who are corrupt. "We have come treading a path through the blood of the slaughtered." Give him the desire to keep his hands clean, to speak God's truth, to refrain from evil plots and plans, to do righteously by the people of this land and of the world, abstaining from murder and needless violence.

We praise you, O God, and we ask that you keep your praise in the mouth of this new president of these United States, acknowledging always that your love for him has made him whole. May his love for you be reflected in the ways he operates in the great houses of the world: the White House, the Capitol, and the United Nations. By your grace, may he forever be a man of integrity, who walks in wholeness, bringing your redemption to our lives and to our land. Amen.

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