Peace
There is a lot going on in our world. Things are moving at a dizzying pace, and that fact is too obvious to ignore. But do not for a minute think that these things are happening only in the earthly or physical sphere. There is a whole other sphere that is invisible to our corporeal eye. The spirits of wickedness have been in high places for a long time, and they would have us despair and believe that there is no hope anywhere, no safe haven from their reach. They would have us frantic and desperate, willing to do anything to turn around the situation in this country. Some have already fallen prey to that temptation.
The problem is that the only situation to despair of is the salvation of the demons: "they are doomed to be eternally destroyed" (Psalm 92:7b). But any other situation, whether spiritual or physical, religious or political, "nothing shall be impossible for God" (Luke 1:37). We were made in and for this time, and we must not make war with physical means, but with spiritual means. We saw in the last election cycle how even political and legal means were unsuccessful, and there is still a war raging against our Cyrus by the ruling Julian the Apostate.
Before I give us some prayers to pray, of which some are Scriptural, I must address the elephant in the room. Be at peace in Christ. If we are called to suffer and die for Him, then we must do so with peace and equanimity, and with magnanimity of heart (i.e. peacefully and with joy). But we must also have faith in the deliverance that God alone can provide against these wicked demons and their unhappy servants in the flesh. Saint Francis de Sales wisely said, Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, not even if your whole world seems upset. If you find that you have wandered away from the shelter of God, lead your heart back to Him quietly and simply." In this same vein, Saint Vincent de Paul said, "It is a ruse of the devil, by which he deceives good people, to induce them to do more than they are able, so that they end up not being able to do anything. The spirit of God urges one gently to do the good that can be done reasonably, so that it may be done perseveringly and for a long time." So let us not try to do more than we are able. Let us rather beg and allow God to do the fighting for us (cf. 2 Chronicles 20).
A final word on our prayerful supplication...begin always with the praise of God and what He has done in the past, as the great leaders of the Scriptures once did. You will see in the first two prayers how Mordecai and Esther began their prayers in this way before they began to make supplication. This is the best way to pray, because we should never forget the goodness of God in times of adversity; and secondly, this way to begin our prayer reminds us of God's powerful deeds in the past and it steels our hearts to a full trust in God's power and victorious right arm.
Mordecai's Prayer
Esther 13:9-17, adapted for our own use.
O Lord, King who rulest over all things, for the universe is in thy power and there is no one who can oppose thee if it is thy will to save us. For thou hast made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven, and thou art Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist thee, who art the Lord. Thou knowest all things; thou knowest, O Lord, that it was not in insolence or pride or for any love of glory that I did this, and refused to bow down to this proud ideology. For I would have been willing to kiss the soles of its feet, to save us! But I did this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God, and I will not bow down to any one but to thee, who art my Lord; and I will not do these things in pride. And now, O Lord God and King, God of Abraham, spare thy people; for the eyes of our foes are upon us to annihilate us, and they desire to destroy the inheritance that has been thine from the beginning. Do not neglect thy people, whom thou didst redeem for thyself by thy Blood on the Cross. Hear my prayer, and have mercy upon thy inheritance; turn our mourning into feasting, that we may live and sing praise to thy name, O Lord; do not destroy the mouth of those who praise thee.
Esther's Prayer
Esther 14:3-19, adapted for our own use.
O my Lord, thou only art our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, for my danger is in my hand. Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that thou, O Lord, didst take Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, for an everlasting inheritance, and that thou didst do for them all that thou didst promise. And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast given us into the hands of our enemies, because we glorified their gods. Thou art righteous, O Lord! And now they are not satisfied that we are in bitter slavery, but they have covenanted with their idols to abolish what thy mouth has ordained and to destroy thy inheritance, to stop the mouths of those who praise thee and to quench thy altar and the glory of thy house, to open the mouths of the nations for the praise of vain idols, and to magnify for ever a mortal king. O Lord, do not surrender thy scepter to what has no being; and do not let them mock at our downfall; but turn their plan against themselves, and make an example of the ideologues who began this against us. Remember, O Lord; make thyself known in this time of our affliction, and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion! Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him. But save us by thy hand, and help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, O Lord. Thou hast knowledge of all things; and thou knowest that I hate the splendor of the wicked and abhor the pride of the sinful. Thou knowest my necessity — that I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on the days when I appear in public. I abhor it terribly, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at leisure. And thy servant has not eaten at the table of the ideologues, and I have not honored the Apostate's feast or drunk the wine of the libations. Thy servant has had no joy since the day that I was born until now, except in thee, O Lord God of Abraham. O God, whose might is over all, hear the voice of the despairing, and save us from the hands of evildoers. And save me from my fear!
Jehoshaphat's Prayer
2 Chronicles 20:6-12, adapted for our own use.
O Lord, God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? Dost thou not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In thy hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee. Didst thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of Abraham thy friend? And they have dwelt in it, and have built thee in it a sanctuary for thy name, saying, ‘If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, for thy name is in this house, and cry to thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of the wicked ideologies, whom thou wouldest not let them invade when they came from the lands of England, France, and Spain, and whom they avoided and did not destroy — behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.
Prayer of Archbishop Carroll
Written in 1800 for the United States of America; abridged.
We pray Thee, almighty and eternal God, who through Jesus Christ has revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy; that Thy Church, being spread throughout the whole world, may continue, with unchanging faith, in the confession of Thy name. We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist, with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people, over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of the Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government; so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge, and may perpetuate to us the blessings of equal liberty.
We pray for his Excellency the Governor of this State, for the members of the Assembly, for all Judges, Magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare; that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.
We recommend likewise to Thy unbounded mercy all our brethren and fellow-citizens, throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge, and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union and in that peace which the world cannot give; and, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Amen.
Prayer of Rev. Byron Sunderland, D.D.
Rev. Sunderland was the chaplain of the United States Senate. He offered this prayer on 4 July 1861, 37th Congress, first session.
Almighty and everlasting God, be not angry with us for our sins, which we only confess and deplore; but pardon our offenses and extend to us Thy favor. We thank Thee for Thy goodness on this anniversary of the nation a day tenfold more precious by reason of our present troubles, and sacred to the heart for the ever memorable Declaration of our fathers, in which Thou didst begin more openly to give us a name among the nations of the earth. We thank Thee for all Thy manifold and abundant mercies hitherto to make our nation exceedingly great and glorious; but now disasters have befallen us and darkness broods in the land. And now we ask Thy mercy as the Senate is convening at a most momentous crisis of our history. Give to Thy servants all needed help. Add to their deliberations wisdom and unanimity, and profit and speed to their conclusion. Bless Thy servant, the President of the United States, our veteran Commander-in- Chief, and all that have functions in the civil and military power. May the angel of Thy presence walk in the Cabinet and in the Congress and in the camp, to go before, to purify, and to direct the now greatly and universally-awakened love of country. And we beseech Thee to guide us, to overrule and order all things, and so to cause that nothing shall fail, that the disorders of the land may be speedily healed, that peace and concord may prevail, that truth and righteousness may be established, and that Thy Church and Kingdom may flourish in a larger peace and prosperity, for Thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
