The Prayer of Pastor Joe Wright to the Kansas State Senate
It seems prayer still upsets some people. On January 23, 1996, Minister Joe
Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting
the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness
and to 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 confess that. We have
ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism; We have
worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion
and called it alternative lifestyle; 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 the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us
free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of
Your will. We ask it
in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen"
The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in
protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev.Wright is pastor, logged
more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of
those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for
copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on "The Rest of the Story" on the
radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our
desire so that we again can be called one nation under God.