It's Time to Pray, Day 3

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.'" ~Zechariah 7:9

As a schoolboy in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I remember starting every school day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The constant repetition allows the words of the Pledge to be recalled effortlessly today, half a century later.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Have you considered the fact that a nation committed to justice for all is a nation that God can bless? God is passionate about justice because it is in accordance with His nature to be just in all His dealings. When nations base their laws and institutions on principles of justice for all, the God of justice is pleased.

Of course, this means that the contrary is true as well. When injustice creeps in, it brings with it the displeasure of God. God especially seems to look out for the welfare of those whom society overlooks . . . the poor, the less-privileged, the stranger, and the outcast. The nation that wants the blessing of God will ensure justice for all!

Prayer Points

• Thank the Lord that He is a God of justice and shows no favoritism.
• Thank God for a nation that proclaims itself a land of justice for all.
• Pray for our judicial system and lawmakers, that justice for all, tempered by mercy and compassion, will guide our nation.

My Prayer

I thank You, Lord, that You are perfectly just in all Your ways. You deal with us impartially, imparting justice while showing mercy and compassion. Help us to be like You in this way.

I'm grateful, Lord, that the United States has built justice into its very foundation. Forgive us when we have failed to carry out what we say we believe in. Help us as a nation to offer justice to all and not to discriminate in the way that justice is administered.

I pray for the judicial system of this nation. Restore godliness to the courts of our land. May those who make our laws do so with a deep commitment to justice for all. In the name of Jesus, we come against any spirit of privilege or special interests that would mar the true administration of justice. We cry out with the prophet Amos, "Let justice roll on like a river" (Amos 5:24). May a river of justice and righteousness sweep across our nation!