Inspired by Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Dear God of gods and Lord of lords.
We know we humans make many gods. We make them of stone and we make them of money. But we confess that of all the gods we see and the ones we sometimes worship, our intent now is to worship only you. We commit to having no other gods before you. We confess that you are the God of all gods.
We have many people in positions of power. We have kings, presidents, dictators, premiers, bosses, supervisors and coaches. Some of us are in positions of power and influence. All of us have people in power over us. Most of us have people over whom we exert power. But we confess that of all the lords we see and of all the masters we serve, our intent now is to serve only you. We commit that you are the Lord of all our lords. There is no one above you. There is no one we place over you. You are God of god and Lord of lords.
We thank you for being impartial. You do not look out only for yourself. You do not turn away when we need you. You do not serve only the powerful among us. You do not cater to the rich or the famous or the influential. Whether we are on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires or the Welfare list of people waiting for public housing, we know that we are all equally on your list.
We thank you that you cannot be bribed. You do not love us more if we give more. You do not hear the prayers of the best more than you hear the prayers of the good. You do not give out blessings based on what we slip under the table. You cannot be manipulated. You cannot be conned. You cannot be tricked. You do not bargain over our souls to get us for the best possible price. We understand you paid top dollar for each one of us regardless of who we are, where we were born, who our parents are, where we live, where we work, how we dress, who we married, or what church we attend. Thank you for being above reproach.
Everything we see is yours. You own the earth. The deed is in your safety deposit box. You have all rights to all the heavens. When our spaceships arrive at the edge of our galaxy we expect to see your flag on the surface. We cannot go where you have not gone. We cannot step where you have not already walked. You own all we can see and what we can’t see. You own all we know about and all we don’t know about.
You are great, mighty and awesome. You are higher than our highest skyscraper. You are stronger than our most refined metals. You are mightier than our greatest weapon. You are faster than our fastest computer. You know more than Google. You last longer than our best plastic. You are more awe inspiring that your greatest sunrise or sunset. You give meaning to great. You define mighty. You are awesome.
Yet you know about us. You protect us. You care about us. You love us. You call us. You spoke to us. You came to us. You left your world to come to our world. You provide security. You make a future. You dish out hope.
Not only do you know us, but you make yourself the protector of all those who need protection. You have a special concern for the orphan, the vulnerable child, the unwanted little boy, the rejected little girl, the molested, the beaten the maimed, the lost, the hated child. You have a special concern for the widow, the woman alone, the one left without companionship, the one who has suffered for others and because of others. You have a special concern for the refugee, for the one chased from their home, the one wandering the lonely roads, the one with no place to call home.
We thank you for your concern for the vulnerable. We protect our homes with security systems, our endangered species with laws and our accounts with passwords, but you put a fence around the vulnerable among us. We praise you for championing the cause of these people, for being a voice for those who have no voice, for standing up for those who cannot stand on their own and for protecting those who are exposed.
So we pray to you God of gods and Lord of lords these prayers for the vulnerable children among us.
Protect children who have no father in the home. Send them some good role model.
Guide young boys growing up in adverse circumstances to commit to being an in home not an absentee father to their children.
Watch over children whose fathers are in prison and over children whose fathers are just now out of prison.
Guide mothers who have to parent by themselves.
Protect children whose mothers are distracted, doing drugs, living promiscuous lives, who can’t make ends meet, who are unemployed.
Protect children whose parents and siblings are violent.
Guide young girls growing up to aspire to intact families, to find a man who will be faithful to them and to their children and who will commit for life.
Heal children who are abused.
Protect children who are about to be abused.
Give hope to all vulnerable children that somebody like you will come to their side, who will stand by them, who will walk with them and who will protect and support them.
Heal children who are hurting on the inside, who have developed patterns of thinking and acting that are not healthy.
Give good skills and compassionate hearts to those who serve children who are dysfunctional or who are in situations of dysfunction.
Keep children from harm.
Help each child today who faces making a decision about taking up drugs or alcohol or pursuing violence or crime. Send them a good mentor. Close doors that lead to destruction. Lead them by green grass and quiet waters.
We have so much more to ask for. We know so many children who are at risk. We know their names, see their faces, hear they cries, feel their pain.
At times we feel overwhelmed and hopeless ourselves. So we pray for ourselves.
Help us to know you the God of gods.
Help us to rely on you the Lord of lords.
Give us the love for others with which you loved us.
Help me to serve.
Fill me with a healthy fear of your might, greatness and awesome power.
Let me walk by your side.
Help me to keep all that you command me to keep, to do all that you ask me to do. Make me into your obedient servant.
Work through me, work through us, to bring your peace, love and joy to a starving world.
Praise to the God of gods. Praise to the Lord of lords.