Spoken Introduction to the Prayer Litany
On March 4, 1865, after four years of a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln spoke to the nation on the occasion of his inauguration to a second term as President. He recognized that many in both North and South prayed to the same God, asking for help to defeat the other side. He wrestled with a perennial question: how do we know God’s will amid our own conflicting claims? Lincoln said he hoped and prayed that the war would end quickly but recognized that God’s judgments are right, even if God allowed more blood to be shed. He concluded by advocating “malice toward none” and “charity toward all” as the nation worked toward “a just and lasting peace.”
A Prayer Litany
The non-bolded sections may be read by the leader or part of the congregation, with the boldface sections read by the entire congregation or part of it. Alternately the entire litany may be read by one person as a prayer.
Dear Lord,
Just as President Abraham Lincoln
wrestled to understand your will amid war,
we too struggle to see your hand
in our own troubled world.
Conflicts, war, and suffering
haunt so many in our day.
As in Lincoln’s time,
Christians line up on opposite sides of important struggles.
We pray for our side to prevail,
sometimes without reckoning with valid claims of the other side.
We try to enlist you in our cause
rather than aligning ourselves with your will.
We think we know what you want
rather than acknowledging that your judgments
“are true and righteous altogether.”
Forgive us, Lord,
for our narrowness and selfishness.
Move in our hearts
so that we will hold “malice toward none”
and “charity toward all.”
Give us wisdom to see your righteous will
and courage to “bind up” the wounds
inflicted by the conflicts of our time.
Above all, we ask, O Lord,
that you will grant us
“a just and lasting peace among ourselves”
and with others.
Amen.
*Quotations taken from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, which is available from the National Park Service at this link: https://www.nps.gov/linc/learn/historyculture/lincoln-second-inaugural.htm
Check Back Next Week…
This is the second of five blog posts of litanies developed by Dr. Barbara Bradley Feenstra and Dr. Ronald J. Feenstra for use in worship to commemorate events such as MLK’s birthday (January 15, 1929), Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865), Juneteenth (June 19, 1865), July 4/5, and the anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28, 1963). Any of these may also be used during Black History Month. Each litany or prayer is based on documents connected to the event being commemorated.
Published Litanies:
A Prayer Litany Based on Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail”