A Prayer for Those Affected by the Government Shutdown

As the shutdown continues, we hold in prayer so many who are now going without pay. We hold in prayer federal workers who are losing or have already lost their jobs. We hold in prayer those who could soon lose WIC and SNAP benefits. And we hold in prayer our elected leaders who are tasked with creating a federal budget. 

And in doing so, we remember the words of Psalm 72, a prayer that is thought to have been written for King Solomon attributed to his mother Bathsheba.  

Give the king your justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness
    and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the needy,
    and crush the oppressor.

Let us pray. 

Give Congress and the president your justice, O God, and your righteousness to those who have been entrusted to lead. 

May they judge your people with righteousness and those who are poor, who belong to you, with justice. 

May the prosperity that is yielded by our land and our economic systems yield prosperity for the people and the land in righteousness. 

May they defend the cause of those who are poor and oppressed, give deliverance to those who do not have enough for a life characterized by safety and security, and crush those systems that oppress all of these, your children, who face such need.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.