I woke up at 4am on Nov 6, saw the election results, and wrote this prayer.
12 Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me.
13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
Psalm 71;12-14 NIV
The Lord is my refuge. My Protector. Though the world I live in may be hostile towards me and towards those who are vulnerable, I will show no fear nor cowardice. I will accept what is and also understand that this is not the end. I will conjure fortitude and renew my spirit in the Lord. I will remain faithful to the Lord and His call over my life. I will remain faithful to the community that raised me and the country to which my ancestors were brought and in which my ancestors fought generation after generation so that I may have life. I will remain in good spirits because I know who is truly in control and I know that this is not the end. My faith is in the Lord. The same God who kept my foremothers and forefathers through hostile environments and treacherous times is the same God who will keep me. The same God who calls out to the widow and the orphan and the poor and the sick and the outcast and the needy will not abandon them just because the president may. He will not abandon me.
I will not run away. I will not flee. The Lord said He will prepare me a table in front of my enemies. I will heed His call to love others and to care for others now as I would have regardless of who won. I will seek the Lord for He is my refuge always.
Lord may Your strength and compassion be known to every person who is experiencing fear and anxiety right now. May You soothe the minds of all those who want to give up. May You provide rest to those who think there is no good way forward. May You call them to You and remind them of Your faithfulness through generations of leaders. May You turn around the hearts of those who are sent to do us harm. May You soften the hearts of the leaders toward Your children, rather than companies, greed, ego, and oppression. May no injustice go unnoticed, may every journalist be touched and given a spirit of integrity and truth, may every community organizer be invigorated, may every food bank be running over, may every neighbor bind closer to their neighbor, may every friend draw nearer to their friend, may we support each other in ways that point back to Your love for us. Empower every person to find Your strength in them in this moment. Empower me to find stability in Your faithfulness.
The President of the United States is still just a person. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere people do to me?
Though I may walk in a hostile land, a land that devalues me because I am a woman, because I am Black, because I come from a working class family, I know who my God called me to be. I know who my God says I am. I will walk, push on for the Kingdom despite the hostility around me. I will not cower, I will not run away. For if I run away, who will still be here to stand against the injustices and bear witness to the evil doings and to toil towards good? If I run away to greener pastures, who will be here to stand with the rest?
I am not shaming those who choose to move. I don't feel called to do so. I feel called to stay and to dig in my heels and be a neighbor. Community building work is critical. We must have places to love each other, to talk to each other, to feel heard and connected. I will not move to a strange land because I trust God to provide for me here, the land on which I was planted.
God if Your will is for me to move, may You speak Lord. Whatever Your call is on my life right now, Jesus, I welcome it. I cling to Your voice, Lord. I will not fear for I know my life is in Your hands. My friends' lives are in Your hands. My family's lives are in Your hands. I seek Your face for I know You alone are my source for peace and provision and rescue.
Forgive us, Lord, for our sins against You as a people. And may our hearts be filled with forgiveness for each other for our trespasses against one another. Thank You for Your grace and Your clarity and Your covering and Your forgiveness. May we repent sincerely and cling to You.
Lord, bring peace to this nation and to this community. May You provide through miraculous ways for the most vulnerable in this country. May You install empathy, compassion, and kindness into every weak, angry, and fearful heart. May You comfort the brokenhearted, may You strengthen the weary, and may You embolden the weak. May Your song of victory be sung nevertheless. May Your way triumph in the face of bigotry, pain, evil, greed, and hatred. May we all be called and convicted to love each other with more fervor than ever before. Lord may my bones be strengthened by Your spirit. May my love for my neighbor never depend on their race, wealth, citizenship, gender, sexuality, or heritage. May I see each person as an image bearer worthy of love, compassion, and care. May You tend to my heart in ways that will prepare me for the days to come. May You never leave my side. May You never turn Your face from Your people and abandon us, for Your word says that You will never leave us. May we feel Your presence. May You intercede on our behalf. May we hear You when we call out to You. I trust You. I love You.
In Jesus' mighty and matchless name,
Amen.
