Three Prayers

Our nation is the self-proclaimed “land of the free”

Personal liberty is raised to a level of vital necessity

Yet the ironic reality is that we are enslaved from birth

Not by tyranny, but by our own nature

Our hearts are shackled, our minds wrapped in chains

We believe we live as we choose, but such is a delusion

We are captives of our destructive impulses, endlessly striving

True freedom is found only in Jesus

Not government policy or uncensored expression

But our hearts easily grow accustomed to our captivity

Ignorantly we consider the bondage of our souls as “home”

So even when offered escape

Lead by the Savior to promised lands of joy and fullness

We easily retreat from glorious freedom back to our self-inflicted slavery

         

God, show us how to walk in freedom

In a world where philosophy and perspective change like the weather

Truth seems like a distant star

One reached for, but never grasped

So we resort to subjectivity

Where “truth” is bent to our will

Whoever claims to know absolute truth is deemed an arrogant fool

To declare something as authoritative is diagnosed as narrow mindedness

But if we follow these tides of thought

We will find ourselves tossed to and fro

Like a rubber duck in a tempest

We have been carried to solid ground

Given a firm foundation that has stood the test of time

May we not dwell in the sinking, ever-shifting sands

         

God, help us to trust in Your Word

We are excitable people

Possessions, politics or even entertainment provoke intense emotion

We devote our lives to such things, as if they were the noblest of callings

Conjuring convictions that seem to take root in the very depths of our being

Matters that in honest assessment prove trivial

While a cause of eternal significance calls us from the cross

An eternal destiny revealed in humbling grandeur

Do the fires of passion burn within us for such a call?

A call to come and die to ourselves

That we might experience abundant life in our Lord

Making every step we take embroidered in glory

No greater path can man tread as the one blazed by the Christ

May the name of Jesus run through our veins

And may we bleed the Gospel when our souls are pricked        

God, give us a zeal for Your purpose