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Prayers for Voting and our Country

A Prayer for Voting 

By David Seidenberg

With my vote today I am prepared and intending to seek peace for this country, as it is written: “Seek out the peace of the city where I cause you to roam and pray for her sake to God, for in her peace you all will have peace.”

May it be Your will that votes will be counted faithfully, and may You account my vote as if I had fulfilled this verse with all my power.

May it be good in Your eyes to give a wise heart to whomever we elect today, and may You raise for us a government whose rule is for good and blessing to bring justice and peace to all the inhabitants of the world and to Jerusalem, for rulership is Yours!

Just as I participated in elections today, so may I merit to do good deeds and repair the world with all my actions, and with the act of [fill in your pledge], which I pledge to do today on behalf of all living creatures and in remembrance of the covenant of Noah’s waters to protect and to not destroy the earth and her plenitude.

May You give to all the peoples of this country the strength and will to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as unified force in order to cause to flourish, throughout the world, good life and peace, and may You fulfill for us the verse:

“May the pleasure of Adonai our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; may the work of our hands endure.”

A Prayer for Election Season:

Almighty God, we pray today for peace. Our world is often frightening and broken.
We see calamity, violence, and anger.
The rhetoric and divisiveness of people can lead us to despair.
And yet, Your people know well how you speak of peace.
You created us in your image, with a yearning for You, your peace.
You give peace in the form of human flourishing.
You give peace through reconciliation of former enemies.
You give peace through the words we speak in love.
You give peace to those in mourning and loss.
You are the giver of peace.
And so we pray, God, give us a desire for peace greater than our desire for power.
God, help us to see the need of our neighbor as great as our own.
God, help us to speak and act from a posture of love instead of hate.

God, give us courage to step forward as peacemakers in the midst of strife. God, grant us sensitive hearts to comfort those who are hurting.
And help us to do it all in Your Name.
Almighty God, we pray today for peace. Our world is often frightening and broken.
We see calamity, violence, and anger.
The rhetoric and divisiveness of people can lead us to despair.
And yet, Your people know well how you speak of peace.
You created us in your image, with a yearning for You, your peace.
You give peace in the form of human flourishing.
You give peace through reconciliation of former enemies.
You give peace through the words we speak in love.
You give peace to those in mourning and loss.
You are the giver of peace.
And so we pray, God, give us a desire for peace greater than our desire for power.
God, help us to see the need of our neighbor as great as our own.
God, help us to speak and act from a posture of love instead of hate.
God, give us courage to step forward as peacemakers in the midst of strife. God, grant us sensitive hearts to comfort those who are hurting.
And help us to do it all in Your Name.

A Prayer for Our Country

Mishkan T’filah

O Guardian of life and liberty,
may our nation always merit Your protection.
Teach us to give thanks for what we have
by sharing it with those who are in need.
Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation,
and alert to the care of the earth.
May we never be lazy in the work of peace;
may we honor those who have died in defense of our ideals.
Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance.
May they govern with justice and compassion.
Help us all to appreciate one another,
and to respect the many ways that we may serve You.
May our homes be safe from affliction and strife,
and our country be sound in body and spirit.
Amen.

A Prayer for Our Country

(Rabbi Peter Stein, adapted by Rabbi Beth Kalisch)

Eloheinu v’Elohei Avoteinu v’Imoteinu
Our God and God of our Ancestors
M’kor HaBracha, M’kor HaChaim
Source of Blessing, Source of Life:

You have implanted within us great abilities
We can each be a source of blessing
We can each nurture and protect life

Bless us with the strength, courage, and wisdom
To be healers
To be creators of hope
To be rodfei tsedek and rodfei shalom
Those who live in pursuit of justice and peace

Eloheinu v’Elohei Avoteinu v’Imoteinu
Our God and God of our Ancestors:

Our country faces great challenges:
Suffering and sickness,
Hatred and violence,
Inequity, narrow-mindedness,
Division, despair, too many deaths

Let us rise up to meet these challenges 
To fill every corner of the land with love and peace.

Let us rise up for the next generation:
That the blessings we have taken for granted –
The blessings some of us have never been able to take for granted –
Might be secure for our children,
And our highest aspirations
Might one day be their blessings to cherish

M’kor HaBracha, M’kor HaChaim
Source of Blessing, Source of Life:

We need leaders who will help us heal
And work toward safety and equality

We need leaders who will unite us
And create opportunity for one and all

Bless our democracy:
The freedoms that so many were willing to die for,
The institutions so many have served with honor. 
May each of us do our part to strengthen them for the future.

Eloheinu v’Elohei Avoteinu v’Imoteinu
Our God and God of our Ancestors:

Help us on the path
to cooperation and understanding.
Help us to hear the cry of those who are oppressed.
Help us to make this country
a place of love and peace.

And let us say:
Amen