Praying with excerpts from Psalm 135 for our warriors today.
Praise the Lord.
As the new calendar fills
As the goals give way to demands
As we hurl ourselves headlong into this new year
Lord, stop us.
Teach us to praise.
To praise the source of our breath
To praise the One who moves the sun
The One who gives the strongest man his power
Who gives the smallest bird his song
In all our self-importance, we need You
We need to praise.
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise Him, you servants of the Lord,
you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to His name, for that is pleasant…
Forgive us Lord when we don’t give You proper praise.
I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
The Lord does whatever pleases Him
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses.
Lord, forgive us for complaining about the weather!
You are God and You know what’s best.
Thank You for the many times You have moved the winds and the clouds and have calmed the seas to bless us.
Your name, Lord, endures forever,
Your renown, Lord, through all generations.
For the Lord will vindicate His people
and have compassion on His servants.
Lord may Your name be our warriors’ first thought in the morning.
May they strive throughout the day to know and glorify You.
May revival spread Father God! For our military needs You more than any other thing.
May our airmen in the sky, our sailors in the oceans depths, our soldiers in the farthest lands be praising You.
We pray for the missions being carried out today. Please give our men and women safety and peace.
We pray the equipment works right–from planes to ships’ rudders to guns. Please give our mechanics insight. Guide the crew members. Keep the security guards alert.
Lord please work amongst the people in the offices, the motor pools, the barracks, the headquarters.
We pray for peace Lord. But if that cannot happen, may our military be Your agents of hope.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
God of all creation, forgive us when we make the silver and gold of rank our idols.
Save us from this evil. May our ranks not be unable to speak, see, hear because of wrong ambition.
Give wisdom to the promotion boards. Give perspective to all.
We pray for those who have been broken by their military career. Lord, please hold our veterans close. Please protect our people from suicide. Guide those who are getting out.
And Father please be with the families of our fallen. Give them hope for this new year.
We pray for those who are tired. For those who are dealing with a lot of change. For those who are brand new, and those who’ve given years.
Through it all, may we praise You.
Praise the Lord.