Make the Promise of America a Practice for America

I believe in prayer.

Some of us aren’t powerful or moneyed enough to change the outcome of an election. Some of us aren’t influential enough to reach into the hearts and minds of millions of undecideds. Many people can’t even get out to do something, anything, including vote, or volunteer, or donate to change the course of this nation. But each and every one of us, no matter where we land on the political spectrum, no matter where we live, can pray for America.

If you don’t know what to pray for, here is a beautiful prayer delivered by Bishop Leah D. Daughtry following the opening of the DNC’s third night:

“In the book of Isaiah 58:12, some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins, you will restore the foundations laid long ago, you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets in which to dwell.

Let us pray.

Oh God creator of Heaven and Earth, Lover of Peace, Freedom and Justice, we thank you for this privilege and this opportunity to gather today for the important work of visioning our nation’s future.

We Gather at a critical time in our nation when we are at the crossroads of hopelessness and hopefulness, when the forces of good and evil so plainly battle for the hearts and minds of our people, when right is called wrong and wrong is called right,
when up is called down and down is called up,
when fake is called fact and fact is called fake,
when it seems truth forever on the scaffold and wrong forever on the throne, and yet even in the midst of this chaos and confusion we see now a light on the horizon and we are grateful.

Grateful for hope, grateful for purpose, grateful for direction.
You have called us to this moment to march together toward the light, to join together with one voice in one fight to move our nation away from division and despair and forward toward its highest ideals.

As we gather today seeking to fulfill the responsibility of faithful citizenship, we ask for divine guidance to help us remember our calling to serve the least, the last, and the lost, the left out, the locked out, and the left behind, to be their voice, to be their hope, to be their strength, to be their light, to fight for them with courage and compassion, for them and for ourselves, for the work that must be done, for the bridges that must be built, for the walls that must be destroyed, for the children who must be saved, for the doors that must be open, for the sick who must be healed, and for the last who must be first.

We ask for strength for the journey, clarity of thought, sharpness of vision, singleness of purpose, and the courage of our convictions to make the promise of America the practice of America.

And may we build the old waste places, may we raise up the foundations of our future so that in generations to come we shall be called the repairers of the breach and the restorers of streets in which to dwell.

Because we ask it in your name, we declare that it is so and all of God's children say, Amen”