Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  Over the years I have been to many National Day of Prayer assemblies and have always been struck by two things.  First, they generally seemed to be a gathering to worship The United States of America with a thin patina of God talk to make it look like prayer.  Second, most of those in attendance were assertively self-satisfied with all of it.  As the years went by I also noticed that, at least in the gatherings I attended, it began to take on a very conservative, almost fundamentalist, political and theological flavor that I found quite repulsive.  And so, on this National Day of Prayer I will not be attending our local event but will meditate instead on Psalm 115 and pray that the leaders of our nation may be guided in the ways of justice and truth.