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 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 .
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.'
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 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 .
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.'
Bob, you may want to look this up. It was originally delivered
ReplyDeleteon January 23, 1996 by Pastor Joe Wright to the Kansas House of Representatives. The prayer was similar but not exact as you quoted it.
Keith
Keith - thanks for the call out on the date of this. Does the version I was given misrepresent the prayer in any way? If so, I'll fix the entry.
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