Prayer for July

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Father, thank You that we have a country like the USA to celebrate. Thank You that the Grand Experiment worked for 250 years and counting. Thank You that the first Europeans to land on the Eastern Seaboard really did seek freedom of Christian worship--knowledge that I fear is being lost or buried as time goes on. I know they did; I researched them in their own words, and wrote about them. Those first few boatloads lived and died not knowing they clung to the edge of a continent stretching almost 3000 miles to the west. If they can see from heaven, I'm sure the fact that their new, wild land became a vast, diverse, and unprecedentedly wealthy nation astounds them. 

Lord, when we think about the history of this country, its triumphs, tragedies, adventures, discoveries, and crimes against humanity, help us be sober-minded about the truth of humanity that it illustrates. We are, humans all, sinners in need of a savior. When we think about the miraculous outcome of the revolution that should never have gone our way, help us remember that with God all things are possible to those who believe. What You shut, no one can open; and what You open, no one can shut. Unless the Lord builds the house, he labors in vain who builds it, but when the Lord builds it--watch out. 

Lord, I pray that people will not confuse God and country on this significant anniversary. I am so grateful to have been born when and where I was, yet the life of relative ease that Americans enjoy lulls too many into thinking they can do life on their own. We need You, and if we have You, all these things will be added. Father, thank You for your grand plan for Earth that we only grasp pieces and parts of. Help us cooperate with it, both intentionally and unwittingly. May gratitude and its expression explode in this nation, drowning out moaning and complaint where it isn't warranted. Thank You that we are citizens of heaven, of your kingdom, first. And may many more Americans join your kingdom this year.

Let the celebration be more than a superabundance of beautiful fireworks, even as we marvel at them. Teach us what You want us to know. Speak to us what You want to say. Download new insights to minds and hearts. Help us understand what You want us to understand about possibly the greatest country to ever exist, and may nothing on this earth, however shiny and bright, deflect our eyes from You. Amen.