I couldn't help but think, as we say back home, the Lord is in this place.

Mr. President, I heard a story recently I think is appropriate for these times.

The story goes like this. President Lincoln at the height of the Civil War was meeting with members of the clergy. At the end of the meeting, one of the clergymen said to the president, "Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side."

President Lincoln hesitated for a minute and then he said, "I'm sorry, I can't do that, but what I can do is pray that we are on God's side."

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and privilege to present to you the president of the United States.

My precious Lord, hear our prayer for national leaders.

We seek to serve, but we are an imperfect lot, cursed with the frailties and shortcomings of all men.

We ask Your help to allow us each day to see the faces of those we have been chosen to serve.

To see the eyes of children we do not feed, to hear the cries of those we have not healed, to hold the hands of those we send to war, to feel the pain of those we serve, that we may truly know the enormity of our task.

We pray that You fill us each day with the solemnity and importance of our work, that You do not allow us to rest while our work remains undone.

We ask both for strength of character that we may reach across aisles or borders or oceans to do the good that You would have us do.

You have wept with us at the acts that tore from us those we loved. You have comforted us, individually and collectively, as we gathered ourselves together and proclaimed that these lost lives would be our beacon for unity of purpose, not simply in war but also in community. We are stripped and scarred, and we need the salve of Your love. We pray, blessed Lord, that You bless us today, as you have so many times in our history.

We pray that You reach Your hand to ours and guide our hands to works of charity and mercy and grace as we reach our hands to those we serve. We ask forgiveness that our hands have too often worked with pride or ambition or ignorance.

We seek to be the leaders You would have us be, and we sorely need Your unsearchable wisdom. We pray that each day You inform our judgements with Your wisdom, Your humility, and Your benevolence. Let us kneel before you in prayer.

Almighty and most merciful God, let us lean upon You.

You have provided us great bounty, and we have not always been good stewards.

You have shown us great virtue, and we have not always followed your path.

You have lit the way of righteousness, and yet we have sinned.

Still, we ask again.

Let us see the eyes of children, the faces and the hands of those who rely upon us to protect them. We are their servants, Lord, and we are yours.

Knock at our door, dear Lord, and we will answer.

Enter into our lives, dear Lord. We need you so much.

Invest our sprits with Your grace and prepare us to serve.

It is You in whom we trust and in whose name we make our prayer.

Amen.