Prayers

A Hedge Around a Garden

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A call to pray for God’s protection over a political convention

The Republicans
are on their way to New York.
But they are not alone.
An old foe follows close behind.
His name is fear.
And as we approach the dreaded third anniversary
of what took place on ground
that history has forever deprived of a number,
it’s time we were clear.
Lest a square garden
become a shapeless plot of terror,
we’d best plant seeds of prayer
in the soil of believing hearts.
Let’s ask the good Lord
to grow a hedge of protection
around delegates and candidates
that would shield them from bad deeds.
The last thing the Big Apple needs
is an evil worm burrowing its way
to the core of our democratic process.
To that end, why not make prayer
the first thing you do today
as you sip your first cup of coffee?

A National Call to Prayer

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Why ‘God Bless America’ is more than simply a song

Americans, let’s pause today
to seek the Lord and humbly pray.
Let’s ask that those who lead our land
will heed His truth and take a stand.
But first of all let’s bend our knees
and ask the Lord for what He sees.
With honest gaze let’s look within
for motives that give way to sin.
Let’s own our culpability
confessing what we’ve failed to be,
then listen for what God might say
in judgment of the U.S.A.
Let’s beg His mercy and His grace
for godless norms, perverse and base.
Let’s pledge to push for purity
while guarding others’ dignity.
Let’s ask for eyes to see the poor
and hearts that ache for troops at war.
Let’s plead for justice on behalf
of those whose plight makes bullies laugh.
Let’s bow our heads and fold our hands
and ask the Lord to heal our land.