I'm Lovin' This Prayer

My Aunt sent this to me in an email forward, and I'd seen it before - which prompted me to do some research on it. The email says it was offered by Billy Graham and aired over Paul Harvey's talk radio show, the last time I'd seen it they'd given credit just to Paul Harvey for it. However, neither of these men actually wrote this prayer, but it was aired on Harvey's radio show in 1996.

It was written in 1995 and given at a Kentucky Governor's Ball breakfast by Bob Russell. It was re crafted a short time later by a Wichita Pastor, Joe Wright (not to be confused with Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright), in 1996 and offered at the Kansas House of Representatives session in which it ticked off more than a couple democrats, prompting one to actually walk out.

The email actually has a couple different lines than that of this prayer - I like them both equally. It's possible Billy Graham or Paul Harvey 're crafted' those couple lines again - but I highly doubt it. I rather think it was the nature of the mass grapevine that is email forwarding. You may have seen this email too, you may like it, you may not... but this is the story behind it.

"Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. Lord, we know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
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 esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us oh God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free..."

(It went on in prayer and blessing for the Kansas officials but you get the idea)

Now, I can see how this would tick some off and offend others, which is why I'm also inserting another quote I liked by syndicated religion columnist Terry Mattingly, breaking it all down:

"The easy answer is that he read a prayer about sin. The complicated answer is that Wright jumped into America's tense debate about whether some things are always right and some things are always wrong."

Me? I think that I will continue to nightly to pray: "Lord, have your way in me"

(Cause his ideas and plans are just way cooler than mine!)