Christian Reflection and Prayer

Rev. Joseph Lowery, pastor and civil rights veteran,
gave the benediction at the Inauguration,
calling Americans to pray for the nation and
President Obama.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
thou who has brought us thus far along the way,
thou who has by thy might led us into the light,
keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet
stray from the places, our God, where we met thee,
lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we
forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we
forever stand true to thee, O God, and true to our
native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience
we’ve shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for
your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama,
the 44th president of these United States, his
family and his administration. He has come to
this high office at a low moment in the national
and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because
we know you got the whole world in your hand,
we pray for not only our nation, but for the
community of nations. Our faith does not shrink,
though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.
—Rev. Joseph Lowery, January 20, 2009