Today, I received the following e-mail:
This Pastor has guts!!! Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister, Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. 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 self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of speech and expression. We have ridiculed the time honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"
The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story", and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God".
If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything". Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your email list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world. How many people in your address book will not receive this prayer...do you have the guts to pass it on? I just did!
[End of e-mail]
After reading Pastor Wright's prayer, I composed one of my own:
"Heavenly Father, forgive the transgressions of we who are like Pastor Joe Wright and the Kansas state legislature.
We claim to seek your guidance and direction, but our hearts are hardened by our hubris and haughtiness. We claim to know You, but we do not recognize Your face.
We claim to know Your will, but we find no joy in doing it.
You view the poor with empathy and kindness. We view the poor with contempt and disdain.
You encourage abundant charity. We despise the government's helping hand.
You extol justice for the oppressed. We see only the wealthy as oppressed.
You treasure instruments of Peace. We treasure instruments of War.
You sacrificed Your only begotten son. We sacrifice only crumbs from our tables.
You urged man to avoid earthly wealth. We idolize men who accumulate it.
Your son ministered to outcasts and criminals. We minister to the rich and powerful.
Your son was put to death for the sins of others. We put other to death for our own sins.
You gave man Earth for Heavenly glory. We exploit Earth for the glory of money.
Heavenly Father, Give us this day our daily bread, but do not waste your loaves on the lazy or down-trodden. Forgive us our taxes, even as we refuse to use those taxes for Your will. Lead us not into temptation, for we are perfectly able to find it on our own. Deliver us from having to care for one another, for the United States of America is our kingdom and our power and our glory, forever. Amen!
The response to my prayer was immediate. The Kansas state legislature has denounced it and has turned down my request to open their next legislative session. In the first ten minutes after my prayer was sent to everyone who forwarded the Rev. Wright prayer e-mail, thirty (30) alleged Christians responded with e-mails suggesting that I was the devil and should take up residence in a much hotter climate. Nobody from India, Africa or Korea has solicited copies of my prayer, but that's because they can't even afford food, much less Internet access. Paul Harvey still doesn't know who I am, and the rest of the story of my existence wouldn't really interest his audience. I can live with that!
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