It was over 400 years before the Hebrews, descendants of Abraham, God’s chosen people, our ancestors, were freed, by God, from slavery in Egypt. It has taken over 400 years for people of color to have an opportunity, with God’s help, to break the pervasive, systematic, ubiquitous oppression under which they have so long suffered. In these times of unrelenting turmoil, we must devote more time to prayer and ask God for his help and guidance in effecting change. Let us ask God to hear the sound of our pleading when we cry for help, when we lift up our hands, hearts, and minds to Him (Ps. 28:2)
As we mourn with the families of those murdered by the unjust, we pray as, ‘One afflicted and wasting away whose anguish is poured out before the LORD;’ (Ps. 102:1). As many gather in protest against unjust laws and hardened hearts, we ask God to hear our plea for justice; to pay heed to our cry; (Ps. 17:1).
The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence starts as follows: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Government derives its just powers from the governed, and the governed are now demanding that government be just in execution of its powers.
In our fight for justice and equality, we petition judges not act dishonestly in rendering judgment, but to judge justly. We ask those in authority neither to take advantage of the weak, nor show deference to the powerful; (Lev. 19:15). We ask government not to distort justice; we ask government not to show partiality; (Deut. 16:19). Let us pray with thanksgiving to God whose perfect plan does not follow human timelines.
Lord God of all creation, you search the hearts of men, and know their innermost thoughts. We fervently pray without ceasing, that you blanket this nation with grace to stir the moral conscience of all, so that all are treated justly as equals. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
