I’m proud of Rick Warren for praying in Jesus’ name at the Inauguration today.Many criticized Obama's selection of Rick, and many condemned any mention of the name of Jesus that Rick might invoke.
But he did it anyway. May we all stand so firmly in the One whom we believe.
Excerpts from Rick’s prayer (or watch it on YouTube):
Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one and you are the compassionate and merciful one and you are loving to everyone you have made.
...
Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day, all nations, all people will stand accountable before You. We now commit our new president and his wife Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, Esa, Jesús, Jesus—who taught us to pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
2 comments:
I really liked the way that Rick Warren ended his prayer, reciting from the Lord's Prayer. That was very powerful just hearing Jesus' own words spoken in that setting. And then as you said, that he wasn't afraid to pray in Jesus' name. I wondered as he began if he would do that. I loved the way he made that so personal when he said 'in the name of the one who saved my life...' Now really, how can you get upset with that?
So, I'm just hoping and praying now that the enthusiasm and anticipation of positive change that hung in the air today will become a reality in the days and weeks to come...
I agree. It's hard to argue with someone praying about his own personal experience.
I also liked his inclusion of the Shema near the beginning of his prayer: "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."
Nice beginnings and endings, rife with symbolism.
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