One of my favorite authors is Catherine Marshall. I almost forgot that she was married to Peter Marshall, who was at one time the Chaplain of the U.S.Senate.
A few days ago an antique dealer friend gave my hubby a booklet containing the prayers of Peter Marshall which opened our U.S. Senate during 1947-1949.
I started looking through them and was so taken by the words and the heart as he prayed. It almost seems like another time and place... Listen...
Monday, January 27, 1947:
"Oh Lord our God, before whom all our pretenses fall away, who knowest our secret thoughts and our hidden fears, bless us this day with Thy Spirit and help us to discharge our duties faithfully and well. Ever sensitive to the hurting of our own feelings, may we be sensitive also to our grieving of Thy Holy Spirit when we give ourselves to the lesser loyalties and spend our time and our energies in that which is less than the highest and the best.
We pray for the President of the United States, the members of the Cabinet, the representatives of the people, the judges of the land, and all those in authority, that it may please Thee so to rule their hearts that they may rightly use the trust committed to them for the good of all people.
Raise up among us, we pray Thee, fearless men who know that only in the doing of Thy will can we find our peace. So make it plain to us this day, and give us the courage to do it. All this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen"
Oh how I pray that this kind of prayer would be what our leaders would voice...
Be sure to vote on Tuesday if you haven't already... and I pray that God will continue to have mercy on this country that we all love! Never have we needed Him more!
I got a bit emotional reading this because despite my fight against what is wrong in Washington, I know that it is only by prayer for our president and leaders that things will change. Scripture says righteousness exalts a nation and if we all prayed as Peter did, maybe more righteous leaders would be in office.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this!
I loved this and think that you have a treasure in the booklet that your husband was given. His words blessed me, and I was stuck by the fact that even 60 years ago, Godly men knew to pray not just for those who govern by election but also the judges who rule the bench.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved Peter Marshall maybe because of Catherine. I loved the book A Man Called Peter and read that and I always loved that he was the Chaplin. I even still read the books Catherine Marshall wrote. I also love the Light and the Glory by their son.
ReplyDeleteYes, a powerful family used in the hand of God.
What a treasure! I had a book of prayers by Peter Marshall way back when I was in college and it meant so much to me! Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord said that if HIS people, called by
ReplyDeleteHIS name, would humble themselves, seek His
face, and pray He would hear our prayers
and heal our land. Until the church does
just that we can't expect to see this
nation change and we will continue to
have leaders such as we have now whose
agenda has nothing to do with honoring
and obeying almighty God. I think Peter
Marshall was a wonderful man and we need
more prayer warriors like he was. But we
also need the average person who claims
to be a Christian spending more time on
his knees in their prayer closet crying
out to God who is the only One who can
make a real change in our nation and
world.
Wonder who is chaplain now? Guess I could google it and find out! I (like a few others who left comments) read A Man Named Peter and remember reading some of P.M.'s prayers. Sadly, I don't think I have any of his books anymore...
ReplyDeletewhat a precious way to encourage us to not only
ReplyDeletepray but to vote!
i have learned so much from following your blog
these few short months.
thank you.
Wow Sonja, how far we've come, huh? We do need to go back to our roots, the principles that this country was founded on. We must pray.
ReplyDeleteAndie
I've already voted and am still praying that our country will go back to it's roots and raise its voice to the Almighty.
ReplyDeleteTouching reading Sonja. Your posts are so informative. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Amen! We all need to earnestly pray for our nation, our leaders, and ask God to stay the hands of our enemies who seem to lie in their beds at night thinking of ways to destroy us. It is not surprising that our greatest enemies are those who also seek to destroy Christianity.
ReplyDeleteWe MUST all get out and vote. Yes, we depend on God, but He depends on us to go pull the lever!!!
What a find, Sonja! Thanks for sharing. May we get back to this kind of devotion!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Mary
Wow! What a great post before the elections and what a wonderful gift to have for your library.
ReplyDeleteI am reading the Life and Diary of David Brainerd...so inspiring.
Great post - Sonja!! Thanks for sharing that timely one with us! Love these stories from the past!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Stephanie
His heart and prayers are pure and spoken from a well of deep truth. How far we've fallen from such a time of purity! We need strong Christian leaders at the helm, ones unafraid and unashamed of God and his Word. I'm praying along these lines... may we all be found on our knees in this season of change.
ReplyDeletepeace~elaine
I so agree with what Elaine said above!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm praying...
Thank you for sharing this with us Sonja.
You said it best here: "Be sure to vote on Tuesday if you haven't already... and I pray that God will continue to have mercy on this country that we all love! Never have we needed Him more!"
I voted 7am this morning.
Love you.
I read some of Catherine Marshalls works too and really enjoyed them. I pray for more good men like Peter Marshall who are not afraid to stand up for God and His leading. I too considered it a real privilege to vote yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThose were the days....may they return to us in a fresh new way - a greater unfolding of His GRACE - than this nation has ever seen or heard of. iPray!
ReplyDeleteDad just watched the movie " A Man Called Peter".
I'm very fond of Catherine myself. Loved the 'Christy' series
Sonja, how did I miss this post? First of all, I love Catherine Marshall's writings. I loved the book " A Man Called Peter" and I saw the video. When I took my nieces Katie and Kristin to Washington DC years ago we went to church where Peter Marshall was.
ReplyDeleteIf only our government officials would feel the same way about their responsibilities.
Love you sis,
Debbie