Litany on the Occasion of Charlie Kirk's Assassination

To each petition, I invite you to please respond with, “Lord, hear our prayer.”

Our heavenly Father, we come to you in our sorrow, our confusion, our frustration, and our anger over recent events. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutsky, and again more victims in school shootings, we bring many emotions of grieving. They are a part of the way You made us to process when we lose someone or some things (freedom of speech, religion, etc.) we deeply love and value. In our mess, with all our feelings and questions, we come to You, seeking Your comfort and strength, and we ask You ...

For the healing and comfort of Erika Kirk and her two small children, the family of Iryna, their families and the families of so many others impacted by recent violence. Jesus we ask you ...

Lord, you tell us to weep with those who weep. Even in this, we need your help. We dare not become calloused, numbed, resigned to or accepting of evildoers and evil deeds. Help us, Lord ...

For our nation's deliverance from the senseless violence that is all too prevalent today, Oh Jesus, how we need You. We need peace as You give not as the world gives. For this, we cry out to You ...

For those who perpetrate, support, or justify physical violence against others, be it in the name of political ideology, religious beliefs, or personal agendas, we cry out for Your conviction. We pray that they would repent if possible. Failing that, if they persist in evil-doing, we reluctantly pray that they themselves would reap the consequences of their actions. In this we ask ...

May we see every person as Your image-bearer, regardless of what they may believe, say, or do. And may we especially remember that all who trust in the name of Jesus are our brothers and sisters, and that we are to be united even as the world is divided. For your sake ...

Finally, Lord, in accordance with Jesus’ Beatitudes, bless those who are meek, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and those who are persecuted for Your name’s sake, we ask ...