Prayer For Our NAtion

Our Father, up in Heaven,

hear this fervent prayer

May the people of all nations

be united in thy care.

For earth's peace and man's salvation

can come only by Thy grace

And not through bombs and missiles

and our quest for outer space.

For until all men recognize

that "The Battle is the Lord's"

And peace on earth cannot be won

with strategy and swords.

We will go on vainly fighting,

as we have in ages past

Finding only empty victories

and a peace that cannot last.

But we've grown so rich and mighty

and so arrogantly strong,

We no longer ask in humbleness

"God, show us where we're wrong"

We have come to trust completely

in the power of man-made things,

Unmindful of God's mighty power

and that He Is "King of Kings"

We have turned our eyes away from Him

to go our selfish way,

And money, power and pleasure

are the gods we serve today.

And the good green earth God gave us

to peacefully enjoy,

Through greed and fear and hatred

we are seeking to destroy.

Oh, Father, up in heaven,

stir and wake our sleeping souls,

Renew our faith and lift us up

and give us higher goals.

And grant us heavenly guidance

as war threatens us again

For, more than guided missiles,

all the world needs guided men.

- Helen Steiner Rice