A Collect for Guidance

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This is part of the Morning Prayer service in the Book of Common Prayer.  I pray this prayer almost every day.  I pray for family, friends, travel safety for my husband, strength for my friends who are struggling.  I pray for our priest who juggles so many tasks each day.  I pray for the safety of my children and grandchildren who are so precious to me.  Some days I can only read that prayer because I feel empty.  But then I come to the part that says "remember that we are ever walking in your sight" and I am relieved.  Even when the words won't come for the cares and occupations of my life, God still has me in his sight.  He knows my cares and concerns before I am able to form them into a prayer.

Lately, I've focused more on "we humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit."  We have a very important election on the horizon.  It amazes me to read the posts of friends and strangers on Facebook.  How can we all live in the same country and see things in such a drastically different light?  So my prayers lately, in addition to those for friends and family, have leaned more toward the "guide and govern us" part of that prayer.  Within six months, we will have a new President and the future of this country will be determined on the outcome of that election.  I pray that there are people out there like me who pray but don't post, who love their neighbors and don't harbor hate, who want peace and security for all who live here.  I know within my heart the only way that will ever happen is if we humbly pray for guidance and obediently listen to that voice.  If we listen, that voice will tell us to love our neighbor, no matter how they voted, no matter the color of their skin, or the church or synagogue or mosque they attend.  That voice will remind us that in our Heavenly Father, we live and move and have our being,  and only in Him will we find personal peace, peace for our families, peace in our neighborhoods and peace in our country.