Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The “earth” which we live has a name, Dallas. In Jeremiah 29, God says to his people that the way they go about living should be in the city, for the city, because in their blessed living so too would the city be blessed. So this week we pray that our [the Church] wills and actions would match our heavenly Father’s for this particular place on earth. Let us join together in these words adapted from Ernest Campbell,
We pray today for Dallas:
a microcosm of the ailments and aspirations of the world;
a representative sampling of Western culture at its best and worst;
emblematic of your Church’s strength and weakness;
an ordeal for many, a delight for some.
Raise us as a people, gracious Father, into a community in which the welfare of one becomes the concern of all. May we se our differences as assets rather than liabilities, occasions for growth rather than grounds for tension. Out of teeming multitudes grant that a new breed of humanity may surface for whom the common good will inspire nobler and more just forms of public service.
Bless the leaders of our city with decision-making wisdom and an irrevocable commitment to the equitable construction and enforcement of law. Help us as members of Christ’s body to more effectively relate our faith to life as it is lived in our city. Make us bearers of hope, champions of justice, and agents of reconciliation.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.