05/25/2026
Memorial Day Prayer 2026
Today, on Memorial Day, we remember with honor those men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
Memorial Day traces its roots back to 1865, three years after the Civil War, when Major General John A. Logan, head of a Union veterans’ organization, established “Decoration Day,” calling for the graves of fallen soldiers to be adorned with “the choicest flowers of springtime.” He urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.” Over time, Decoration Day became Memorial Day, observed each year on the last Monday in May.
For the last three years, since coming to Colton Community Church, my wife Theresa and I have been deeply moved by the care shown in both Colton and South Colton for the resting places of those who have gone before us. People young and old faithfully tend the cemeteries. The grounds are beautifully maintained. Gravestones are cleaned, flowers arranged, and flags reverently placed. We are proud of the patriotism and civic duty demonstrated here.
Recently, I sense a ground-swell of determination and resolve in our rural communities to reclaim the most important aspects of our lives together: faith in God, honesty and openness in our communications, and the courage to live by the golden rule - to treat others the way we wish to be treated. I see broken families, not going backwards to try to get back something that was lost, but going forward, going further in their love for each other by discovering new ways to share life that are healing and empowering for all involved. I’m not talking about nostalgia or sentimentality. I’m seeing people who have hurt each other choose to stop that, and commit to giving each other and their families, their schools, and their jobs, their churches, and their civic organizations their very best.
I see hope returning to us, not in the form of government handouts, but in neighbors reaching out their hands, and hearts, speaking words of encouragement and appreciation, and praying for one other. I see us learning to earn and keep each other’s trust again. Handshakes and smiles, polite manners, and common courtesy — these things matter to us again!
I’m excited to believe again; that we can honor the sacrifices that have been made to give us the precious freedoms of this most wonderful country on the face of the earth; that we can become our best selves; that we can hold true to our constitution; and that we can learn to live such unselfish lives that we will become what so many have given their lives for... one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, in Your providence You guided our forebearers to found this nation upon the conviction that a principled people might govern themselves and become a great nation under You, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Today, remind us of the sacrifices made in pursuit of this high ideal. Inspire us also to make sacrifices for the generations yet to come.
Good Lord, forgive us, heal our wounded spirits, comfort us in sorrow, and strengthen us to persevere in what You have shown us to be right.
We humbly beseech You, that we may always prove ourselves mindful of Your favor, and glad to do Your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, pride, and every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitudes brought here from many kindreds and tongues.
Endue with the Spirit of wisdom those to whom we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through faithful obedience to You, we may show forth Your praise among the nations of the earth. In times of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in days of trouble do not let our trust in You fail.
In obedience to Your command that we love and pray for our enemies, we ask that by Your mercy and grace, You would lead those who seek our harm into the ways of truth, justice, and peace. Deliver all of us from hatred, cruelty, prejudice, and revenge, and in Your good time enable us to stand reconciled before You.
Until that day, O God, we commend to Your gracious care all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them with Your heavenly grace, strengthen them in every trial, give them courage in every danger, and grant them the assurance of Your abiding presence wherever they may be.
All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who taught us to pray:
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen
