Dear Heavenly Father,
As I reflect upon this important day and its meaning, I feel the need to pray for myself and others in my country.
Please Lord, let us not forget the significance of this day. Do not let it become merely a holiday for play without remembrance and honor.
Help me Lord, to remember those who so willingly gave their lives to provide and protect all of the freedoms that Americans have been blessed with and help us to never take any of those freedoms for granted.
Lord, when I exercise my rights for freedom of speech and want people to listen to me with kindness and temperance, let me remember that to truly embrace freedom of speech is to understand that while I may speak freely of my opinions and ideas, I must also give the same respect to others whose opinions and ideas may completely contradict mine. If I do not give the same respect I seek for the freedom of speech I have been blessed with, then I disrespect those tho died for that freedom.
Lord, when I choose to do a work in this world, help me to remember that I have been blessed with the freedom to choose what work I do because of the sacrifice of others. And so in doing whatever it is I choose, let me always remember to give back to others who are in need. For when I work purely for self-indulgence, I disrespect those who gave their lives for that freedom.
Lord, help me to be more grateful for the things that I have and not to complain about the things that I don’t. When I see millions of those in countries who have so little, I understand just how incredibly rich and privileged beyond measure I am. If I am not grateful for all that I have, I am disrespecting you as Jehovah Jirah, my Provider and I disrespect those who paid the ultimate price for me to have the freedom to live the American Dream.
Lord, help me to give good direction to my children to further their education and keep learning all they possibly can, to reach for their dreams and work hard to make a positive impact on humanity. When so many countries do not, or cannot provide for their children to expand their learning, if I do not seize the chance to teach my children to respect all of the magnificent resources they have for improving their knowledge and the freedom they have to use it, then I disrespect those who laid down their lives to give my children the freedom of opportunity.
Lord, when I speak and act, please help me to remember to speak and act as You taught me in Your Holy Word and to treat my fellow countrymen and women and those outside our borders with love. For when I do not, I am not a good representation of You and Your unending, remarkable love and I also disrespect those who laid their lives down for me. None of them willingly laid down their life for this beautiful country to be full of cruel, impatient and uncaring people. No. They courageously died to preserve a place where all people, of every race, creed, age and gender could come together to live and work in peace.
Lord Jesus, help me to always be thankful for the Bible I have in my home, that I can own and read it freely, for the opportunity to go to church and worship You openly and for the ability to use my talents for You to spread the message of Your love to others without persecution. Even in writing this prayer and being able to post it for others to see without trial or penalty of death is a freedom which has been graciously bestowed upon me. All of these things are remarkable blessings which so many in the world do not and will never have. Help me to always remember those who died so that I can have the freedom to worship my God Jehovah and my precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for my salvation, healing and freedom from sin. When I forget to be grateful for the freedom I have to worship You, I forget those who died to give me that freedom.
Heavenly Father, help me to always remember, as an American, that I did nothing to earn the rights and freedoms that I have been so richly blessed to have. I had the honor and the privilege of being born here. All of my rights and freedoms were given to me by men and women I have never met and will never know, until, perhaps, we meet on heaven’s shores and I can thank them face to face. Help me Father God, to not abuse the rights I have, to never take them for granted, to be consciously thankful at all times and make those who died for me truly proud that they did. I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice and the sacrifice their families also made.
Thank you Father God, for allowing me to born in the greatest country in the world and to do my best to represent You and Your love to all who live here…
no matter where they are from…
no matter what their race or creed…
no matter what their gender or age…
no matter what their political party…
and no matter what their ideas or beliefs are. Help me to see my fellow countrymen and women as what they really are; Your children. Help me to show them love as You show them love, and to remember if I do not represent You and Your love well, why would anyone want to listen to my testimony of my relationship with You?
Help me Lord to always remember that those who so bravely died for freedom, from the Revolutionary War to the wars of present day, did not die for one particular element of life on earth, they died for the most important element of life on earth…
they died for freedom.
Thank you Heavenly Father.
In Jesus’ Name I pray.
Amen.
Angelique La Fon-Cox 