Heavenly Father, You are my pillar, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. You are my shepherd; I shall not want. You make me lie down in green pastures, and You lead me beside the still waters. You restore my soul, and lead me in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Though I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil because You are always with me. [Psalm 18:2, Psalm 23:1-4] Help me to learn and take command of my day as You explained to Job, and to shake the evil from it so I can live righteously and peaceably.
Holy Spirit, in these trying times, help me to follow the words of Peter that You inspired to write: Submit yourselves to every human authority for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, or to governors, as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and to praise those who do right. For it is the will of God that by doing right you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free people, do not use your liberty as a covering for evil, but live as servants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. [1 Peter 2:13-17] Help me to remember You are in control. That you can raise people to lead and take people down. That You see all and know all, so I must put my trust in You. When Peter wrote these words, the church was under the rule of some very ruthless Roman emperors. Yet these early Christians learned to live, thrive, and spread the love of Jesus to the point that it would turn this empire on its head, and eventually an emperor would become a Christian and declare the Christian faith as the religion of Rome. Help me to live, pray, and serve so that I can do my part to make my nation a Christ-following nation once more.
Let me continually offer the sacrifice of praise to You, oh God, that is, the fruit of my lips, giving thanks to Your name. Help me not to forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices You are well pleased. I will do my best to obey those who rule over me, and be submissive, for they watch out for my soul, and they will give account for how they lead. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for me. For I am confident that I have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. But I especially am urged to do this. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make me complete in every good work to do His will, working in me what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:14-21)