Independence Day: Its Spiritual Dimension

INDEPENDENCE DAY

IN You, O Lord, is our independence from the evils of the world in which we live, where Satan prowls seeking the ruin of souls.

No other way are we safe from Satan’s deceitfulness but in the Lord Jesus.

Deliver us, O Lord Jesus, from compulsively pursuing ideologies that replace our freedom and the freedom of all peoples.

Examine our minds and our hearts, Lord, and cleanse them of that which enslaves us to non-loving, non-caring, non-compassionate thoughts and behaviors.

Please, Lord, show us the way that leads to true freedom.

Expurgate/cleanse our hearts of hatred and prejudices; give us clean hearts, O Lord.

Never let us depart from You, O God, in pursuit of worldly pleasures as a God-substitute.

Deliver the world, Lord, from the evils of human trafficking, slave labor, drug trafficking, abortion and all kinds of criminal behaviors.

Enlighten our minds, O Lord, to know Your ways of love and mercy and compassion toward all and, first of all, towards ourselves.

Never allow us, O Lord, to boast of our accomplishments, as any good we do is done by You at work within our being.

Cancelling the debt we owed You, O God, because of our disobedience to You, we are now free to serve You in love and service to our neighbor, addressing wrongdoing and making right injustices that enslave the world in which we live.

Expand our hearts to embrace the poor and needy of this world: immigrants  and anyone fleeing persecution, abuse (physical, emotional sexual), and death (including death of the spirit by verbal and emotional abuse).

Day in and day out, Lord, the poor and needy cry out to You for deliverance; may we be your hands and feet and heart that offers them deliverance from extreme poverty that deprives them of their basic human rights.

Always precious in Your sight, O Lord, are your sons and and daughters; You wait for each of us to turn to You as our Savior and God.

Yearning for You like a deer yearns for running water, we, your sons and daughters await the day of salvation gained for us by Your death and resurrection: our true independence!