|
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Lord God, Almighty Father, Eternal Sovereign, our Savior, We love and honor Your Holy Name. We have gathered again in humble adoration, on this Veterans Day at this ground that we have set aside in Your Name as our Veterans Memorial to seek Your help and comfort.
We seek Your comfort, for this Memorial represents the sinfulness of the world and the sin that is at odds with all our flesh. We seek Your help, so that we are always able to serve You for all that You have done for us.
As Your servants we confess our shortcomings and inabilities. We humbly pray You to fill us with a full measure of Your Holy Spirit. Order all our endeavors to seek to honor Your Name through continued service to others by the sharing of Your Love.
Because You are all knowing, because You are all seeing, You know that we have been and continue to be at war. We would surely rather have kept out of the fighting and the killing. We would rather depend on Your just cause rather than on our weapons and arms. As You know and as You see our country is very patient and very deliberate, we receive this attitude from You.
When we find that our patience is abused we do not shrink from our duty as ascribed by You. As You sent Your Son as a warrior to defeat the forces of Satan and His legions of evil angels, we too have unsheathed our sword and wielded it in Your Name and for the just cause of defending the freedom of the people of the world to find and follow You, in service to themselves and others.
Lord Jesus, our Warrior over death, we know and believe that You are the Resurrection and the Life and that whoever believes in You shall live though they are dead. Deepen in us the awareness of our beloved who rest in You for whom this Memorial represents. Deepen in us the awareness of our freedom which in their vocation of soldier they kept alive with their death.
O Holy Spirit, giver and guardian of life, we know that this Memorial represents those who in service to the cause of God and country, carry the scars and the wounds of their vocation as warrior. Comfort them with the knowledge that in His flesh, Jesus carries the imprint of the nails and the mark of the spear that were used against Him in His battle over sin. Ease the minds of those with the mental scars through the wonder of Your peace and comfort.
Eternal God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, give protection, guidance, and support to those who lead the military of the United States of America. Give them powers of logic, judgment, and knowledge for right decisions to conduct the strategies of our war against terrorism. Inspire them with respect for the troops they command and the people they serve. Grant them loyalty to our nation and to the ideals they are called to defend. Keep them from becoming militaristic or using the power of the military for self-glorifying purposes. Restrain them from acting hastily when haste invites disaster. Prompt them to act quickly when quickness is essential.
We ask in the last that You would comfort all who mourn the loss of a dear one and prepare for death those who must give their lives in sacrifice to service. As warfare continues, give us the vision to see Your will and to accomplish It in this world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
|
|
