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On the 250^th Anniversary of Independence Day for the United States of America, July 4, 2026, we offer prayers to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; prayers of thanksgiving and petition.

“Count your blessings. Name them one by one.” And our blessings are many; primarily as believers, purchased by the blood of Christ, and secondarily as American citizens, living in a country of “the land of the free and the home of the brave”.

In the New Testament book of John, chapter 8, verse 36, we are told what real freedom is: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

So, we praise God for our redemption, true freedom in Christ. We praise our Lord for the privilege of being Americans, the most sought after country in the world. Here we have opportunity to work hard, to learn, to grow, to flourish. In his “no free lunch” speech, George Washington said “Life doesn’t give free lessons to anyone. So when I say life taught me, rest assured that I paid the price”. Yes, we do seem to learn the most in difficult circumstances.

One very special privilege and opportunity we have in this republic is to vote. As expressed in the Federalist Papers, voting is an act of simulated warfare. If men can’t vote to express their opinions, the situation can easily become physical warfare. Voting affords a “pressure relief valve” to keep men from killing each other.” (Witness the American Revolution)

George Washington’s prayer for America on June 8, 1783 reads as follows:

“I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have the United States in His holy protection, that He would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. Amen.”

It seems he was praying God’s will over America, for a “spirit of subordination and obedience to government (Romans 13:1-7), for brotherly love for one another (1 John 2:7-11), and for a disposition of justice, mercy and humility (Micah 6:8). It seems that Washington understood the destruction that would come from insubordination or the despising of authority (2 Peter 2:4-12).

Let’s petition for our country on this auspicious occasion that our freedoms (to worship, to speak our minds, and to have representation in government) would remain intact; and as Alexis de Tocqueville said in the early 1800s, “America is great because America is good, and if America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great”. Also, he said “a nation cannot remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak.” We need God’s strength to be able.

So, we pray for ourselves to be strong seekers of truth; for our state and country to be lovers of good, lovers of truth; for our educators, media and “influencers” to be truth-tellers; for us all by the power of the Holy Spirit, to do what the Lord requires of us – to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. Amen.