Jamie Mitchell’s Prayer at the Pennsylvania House

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With Jamie at America’s Keswick

Last Wednesday Jamie Mitchell, pastor of NewSong Fellowship Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, gave the opening prayer at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Usually these prayers are so bland as to be utterly forgettable. Jamie’s prayer was definitely not bland. By way of full disclosure, I should add that Jamie is a good friend, I’ve preached at his church, and we were the speaking team at America’s Keswick for their Memorial Weekend Conference. He is a powerful preacher of God’s Word. 

His prayer speaks for itself. I’m glad for a pastor with this kind of courage. 

Prayer for the House of Representatives –  June 10, 2009

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we come before You today because we have nowhere else to go. For You are the true and living God. You are the Maker of Heaven and Earth. You are the sustainer of man and all that we are or ever will be. You are the only real HOPE for our nation and our commonwealth. We come before You in this grand hall, before the important and the powerful, in complete humility and brokenness because Your holiness consumes our failings, reveals our iniquities and lays bare all of our unrighteousness.

 We come to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your help and guidance. We know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we’ve done. We have ignored Your spiritual compass and have tried to guide our paths with our own values, desires and indulgences.

* We confess that we have mocked the absolute truth of Your Word and called it relativism.

* We have worshiped other gods, failing to acknowledge You alone and called it multi-culturalism.

*  We have exploited the poor and naïve; and called it the lottery.

* We have made excuses for the law breaker and called it tolerance.

*  We have demeaned the law keepers and called it politically correct.

*  We have neglected our neighbor and called it self-preservation.

*  We have rewarded laziness, irresponsibility and called it welfare.

*  We have killed our unborn and called it a choice.

*  We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

*  We have neglected to discipline our children and called it releasing their creativity.

*  We have abused power, been party to back room dealing and even hoped for our colleagues down fall and called it political savvy.

*  We have squandered our resources and paid back favors with taxpayer’s funds and called it a stimulus.

*  We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women, who have been sent here by the people of Pennsylvania, and who Your Holy Word calls, ordained ministers of peace, to govern this great commonwealth.

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. May they choose today to be servants of You, Almighty God, and then prosper their steps for their obedience.  May we live in reverent fear of your greatness in comparison to our insignificance.

I ask it, in the name of your son, our living savior and Master, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

If you’d like more background on the prayer, and the commotion that ensued after he prayed, you can read  about it on Jamie’s blog.