Rev. Dyer Goes to Springfield

Recently I was invited to give the invocation for the Illinois State House of Representatives. I was the guest of Rep. John Cavaletto. He was very gracious and spoke with me at some length on the House floor about the challenges of our state. I have included a copy of my prayer here. Note that I was asked to give an invocation that would be appropriate for a gathering of people from different faith traditions... hence, the lack of specific references to God and no Jesus in the prayer. Here is what I offered:

Invocation Prayer for the Illinois State House of Representatives
March 24, 2010

I would like to invite all who are gathered here this day to do the good work that has been laid before them, to serve the strong and resilient people of the state of Illinois, to join me in a time of prayer as we seek power and guidance far beyond what any of us could hope to do on our own. Whatever your faith tradition is, I invite you to use your personal faith to empower through prayer all who seek to do goodness, justice, and righteousness.

Let us pray…
To the great Divine that surpasses our understanding and rises above our collective wills to the heights of a perfect will of wisdom. To You we raise this collective prayer, each praying out of our own personal faith, and pouring that individual faith into this collective prayer so that goodness, justice and righteousness might reign within this assembly. Grant all who serve within these walls, we pray, the wisdom and clarity of thought that are necessary to address the needs and concerns of the state of Illinois and its people. We are surrounded with such a poverty of hope. Help us all to see beyond that poverty of hope into the light of eternal possibilities that only the Divine Spark can ignite within us. Help us all to see beyond the burdens of today into the solutions of tomorrow.
But we also pray to You, our Divine Inspiration and Holy One, for the strength and the courage to never forget those who are suffering right now. Help us never to forget those who are hungry today. Help us never to forget those who are without shelter today. Help us never to forget those who are imprisoned today. Help us never to forget those who are huddled in the darkness of their own despair, unable to perceive that there is an opportunity for hope.
In the shadows of our state’s challenges we especially want to remember the over 20,000 teachers, aides, staff, and administrators who are facing the darkness of unemployment this year. We lift each of them and their families up to you, o Great Divine Spirit of Re-Creation. And we pray not only for a clear path of hope for them, but we pray for guidance and wisdom for all who gather here to find solutions so that no school is left behind, so that no teacher is held back from their calling, and so that no child is denied the kind of quality education that will propel them into the clear skies of their divinely ordained destiny.
With remembrance for those who are suffering, with a yearning for strength and courage, with a hunger to move beyond the poverty of hope, with a desire to see the light of eternal possibilities, and with the pouring of our individual faiths into this collective prayer, we stand before You and the people of the great state of Illinois eager to serve with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our might. Grant us this we pray. Amen.