Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’” 

(2 Chronicles 20:5-9 NIV).

Heavenly Father, 

We thank you for your gracious blessings in our lives, like breath in our lungs, water to drink, and food to eat. But we also thank you for the additional things like family, shelter, friends, and freedom. It is hard to thank you, though, when we are in the middle of any storm in our lives. It feels weird to be grateful in the midst of chaos. Yet, Lord, help us to remember that in the midst of any storm or chaos, we can look to you, the calm eye of the storm, and for that, we should always be grateful.

I pray that we see you as the eye in any political storm. More than just in our election season, we feel trapped in chaos and confusion we see across the world. I pray that, when we are overwhelmed by this, you allow us to see you as the One who ultimately rules over all the nations (vs. 6). When we see the storm of global politics growing darker, help us to remember to call out to you before all, and you will be that calmness that we yearn for (vs. 9)

Lord, help us to look to you in all the social storms that we face, whether it be between family, friends or even colleagues. These storms can come up every day and they can be destructive to our relationships. Please let us turn to you before we say anything that could cost us a relationship. And when we don’t know where to look in a certain relationship, help us to look at you for what to do. 

Among the chaos of all of this, we also feel that there is some chaos in our spirits, where we want to be close to you, but we struggle with sins and temptations. Lord, we pray that you remain in the center of our minds and spirits as the calm eye of the storm. We pray that you help us to make the right decisions and draw us closer to you, the ultimate source of peace and calmness. 

It is in your Holy and Perfect Name we pray, amen.