6 Prayers for Our Country

1. Prayers of Gratitude

Father God,

Before we ask for a single thing, it is weighty upon our hearts to first come before You with sincere gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving. Lord, as flawed as our country is and has been one thing is clear, we would not be a nation without Your guiding hand. As we recall our nation's history, we know that this country's independence was no accident and was not achieved by mere human hands. As we study our country from now on, it is clear that You have had a guiding, loving, and generous hand upon our nation, and we thank You. Before asking for help, we thank You for all You have done and are doing in the present.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

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2. Prayers of Repentance

Father God,

As we come before You to pray for our country, we must acknowledge and repent on behalf of our country and our own hearts for sinning against You. Lord, we know that we are far from perfect and have, at times, made agreements, decisions, and choices that contradict what Your heart desires. Lord, please forgive us. We recall the words of Psalm 103:8-10, "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities."

Father, thank You for Your loving kindness, patience, and gracious forgiveness. We know that this country needs to refrain from stubbornness, leaning on our own understanding, self-reliance (not relying upon You), and allowing culture to be an idol. With genuine hearts, we repent in and through the name of Jesus.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

3. Prayers Against Idols

Father God,

It is clear in Your Word that "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). Lord, an idol is anything we direct our devotion, love, esteem, or hearts upon before You, and that is very prominent in this country. At times we have all been guilty of putting culture before You, petulantly claiming that Your Word should change with the times. Lord, we know these beliefs are childish, and we are not wiser than You. We humbly repent. Please help us to break away from these idols, these distractions, and these false gods that we squander our lives trying to serve. Please give us a new wave of Your Holy Spirit in refreshment and for our hearts not to be that of stone, but of flesh, hearts hungry for Your Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26). We no longer want to be enslaved to these false gods of culture, of pride, and of deceit, but rather we want to live abundantly in the freedom of being in Your Will and to return to our first love of You, Oh God. We pray for our communities and fellow countrymen; we pray against the enemy's plots to deceive those living in this time that Your ways are not the best. We pray for truth.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

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4. Prayers Against Pride and Self-Reliance

Father God,

Another plot of the enemy to deceive us is that we ought to be self-reliant as a country, a country without need of a Savior or God. This is rooted in pride, and it is the downfall of mankind time and time again. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." Once again, we need to remember that pride is a snare, and thinking we are a country that can survive without You is purely ignorant. We repent of the times we have been guilty of this and pray for Your assistance during this time. We do not want to lean on our strength, wisdom, or even our understanding, but instead seek to worship You and ask for Your hand in our government, laws, and hearts and minds. May we remember how desperately and deeply we need You.

May You alone be worshipped.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

5. Prayers for Revival

Father God,

Psalm 33:12 says it best, "What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance." This is what we want, for the words "IN GOD WE TRUST" not to be a mere stamp upon currency but a genuine statement and declaration to all of the world that our nation belongs to the Lord Himself. Father, we pray for revival for our country. We have seen it before through the First Great Awakening and again during the Second Great Awakening in the early days of our nation's history, and we have seen tent revivals in the past hundred years as well. We are grateful for these times, but Lord, we need a massive pivot as a country from where we have been to where we ought to be. We implore You to not turn Your face from us but to call to us yet again through Your Holy Spirit. Just as Jonah invited Ninevah on your behalf to repent and change, we pray America will change as well and turn to You. Lord, we pray for revival and lasting change in hearts and minds.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

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6. Prayers for the Next Leader

Father God,

What a gift it is to live in a country where the votes of the people can elect our leaders! May we first and foremost not take this gift for granted, but instead acknowledge it as something extremely valuable. May we then remember to pray for our leaders. We know the words in Proverbs 21:1 offer that, "In the LORD's hand the king's heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him." We pray then for the heart of our next leader. No matter who sits in the Oval Office next, we pray that that person will seek Your guidance and wisdom and make You their first love. We pray that they would not consider the United States to be a country that does not need You but one that richly needs You every moment of every day. Lord, we pray for this leader that is to be elected in November, and above all else, we pray that we would all remember Your Son, Jesus Christ sits on the Throne of Heaven no matter what.

In Jesus Name,

Amen