Cry Out America: Prayer of Repentance

The following prayer was offered by Ann Kline, member of Bethel Baptist Church in Savannah, at the Cry Out America prayer meeting.


Lord God of mercy and grace, we come humbly before you today to praise the One and true God; the great, almighty, powerful, omnipotent, ever present creator of heaven and earth and the inhabitants thereof. Lord you created by speaking into existence all that is and ever was. Lord you are worthy of our praise because there is none like you. There is no one else worthy to receive our praises but you oh Lord.

We thank you Lord that you chose us and set us apart to love and serve you the rest of our days. We thank you Lord that the United States of America was established by much sweat and blood because your people wanted to worship you without governmental interference or fear of persecution. We thank you for our forefathers sent to this continent to establish this government based on principles deriving from thy word.

We came from “One Nation Under God" to a state of moral and ethical decline. We have lost our moral compass and its ability to detect right or wrong, good from evil.

God, I plead that you will help our President and all government officials, down to our county and local village offices to see the error of their ways. Lord, we repent for not standing firm for what is right. We repent for not standing on your truth (the Word of God). We repent for living impure lives and not extolling the honorable and lovely. Lord instead of looking for praiseworthy and excellence in speech and candor, we’ve yielded to libel and slander of character. For this Lord we repent.

Lord our nation and leaders have been on the slippery slope a long time. There is corruption, greed, moral decay and a steady move from the things which once made America great. The principles in which our nation was founded, no longer ring true or strong.

Father God, we come before you to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance. We know your word says, “Woe to those who call evil good” but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Our late President Ronald Reagan quoted: “If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” This, I believe is at the core for America’s steady decline of morality and values. We no longer are the strong, Judaeo influence around the world--a nation where many came to find refuge, freedom, prosperity and equality. Lord, that came from your blessing America because we honored you. Most people have forgotten or were never told how this nation came into being. Forgive us Oh Lord, for not sharing Godly principles and standards with our children, grand and great grandchildren. Of not passing on America’s greatness because of your blessing and powerful strong arms.

The nation of Israel many times went astray and your hand of judgment weighed heavily on them. It was not until repentance of their wayward, sinful hearts that you, all merciful God, responded with forgiveness and restoration.

Your Holy Word says when we align ourselves with your word and follow your precepts, (that’s willful action on our part) that the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. We humbly bow before you today and pray you will forgive and restore us once again as you as our Lord and Savior. Amen!