Prayer in the Schools

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee, and we beg thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.


My parents moved to a rural community outside of Buffalo, NY, when I was in second grade.  The move occurred over Christmas vacation, so in January of 1952, I began attending a very small grade school.  Grades 1-3 met in one room and grades 4-6 in another.  Kindergarten was in a classroom all its own.  It was in this setting that I first encountered the prayer.  


Every morning we stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and then recited the prayer together.  As I became more theologically aware, I realized the very generic nature of the prayer.  No specific God is invoked.  No controversial doctrine is advocated....only a request for blessing from someone believed to be capable of giving it.  The prayer would work for Jew or Christian.  Of course, it would work for Muslims too, but in the 1950s I was totally unaware of that religious category.  


Sadly, this brief daily ritual, this tiny slice of civility, has been lost.  It has not just been abandoned.  It has been banned.  How unfortunate, that students no longer begin the day with a few seconds of reflection.


Almighty God....There is a person and a purpose beyond myself.  Someone to whom I am responsible.  Someone powerful is watching my behaviors today.  He will know how I treat others and whether my actions are honorable.


We acknowledge our dependence upon thee....I am not invincible.  I cannot meet all my own needs.  


We beg thy blessings upon us...It is a good God who makes daily provision for me.


Our parents...Parents are God's gift to us.  They are not our jailers put in place to make our lives miserable.  They are His gift for guidance.


Our teachers...God has placed them in authority over us for our good.  We are supposed to actually try to learn from them.


Our country...Who can measure the advantage of growing up in the United States of America?  We have "rights" which are really privileges unknown in so many places in this world.  Freedoms worthy of cherishing are ours.


Someone please try to explain to me what is wrong with this prayer?  Oh, yes, I know it is offensive to the atheist.  Let him plug his ears or come up with an alternative that causes children to begin the day recognizing  truths about their existence and putting the day's interactions in a context of respect.


Of course, many....perhaps most...mumbled their way through the prayer not thinking in depth about the meaning.  But, when one recites something day after day, whether or not ones mind is actively engaged, the concepts begin seeping into the cracks and crevices of the mind.


We have lost much, and we are reaping the consequences in disrespect for parents, teachers and our country.