A Prayer to Commemorate Memorial Day - Your Daily Prayer - May 25

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A Prayer to Commemorate Memorial Day
By Lynette Kittle 

Bible Reading:
“And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” - Ephesians 5:2

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Growing up, I remember walking through the graveyard with my parents and grandparents to decorate family members’ graves on Memorial Day. As a child, dressed in my best Sunday clothes and holding my grandmother’s hand, I didn’t really understand the significance of what we were doing. Still, I experienced the comfort and peace it brought me as part of the Memorial Day decorating event.

My heart is grateful to my family for teaching me early in life about the sanctity of life, for their taking the time and effort to live it out before me, teaching me and modeling how to respect and honor those who had laid down their lives for the safety and security of our nation.

We should honor the men and women created by a holy, perfect God, whose human lives were sacred, as described in Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”

These individuals each received God’s breath of life, as described in Genesis 2:7: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Although we may not think of being a living sacrifice as including laying down our lives for our nation, God values those who do. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).

Memorial Day’s Beginning 

“Memorial Day in America, as an annual observance, can be traced back to the end of the Civil War, a war in which over half a million died. Southern women scattered spring flowers on graves of both northern Union and southern Confederate soldiers,” writes Miracles in American History author, historian, and speaker, William J. Federer.

A day set aside to remember loved ones, to mourn their loss, and to decorate the graves of our fallen soldiers. Initially called Decoration Day, later renamed Memorial Day, it was established to remember and honor the countless men and women who have died in service to their country, first observed nationally on May 30, 1868.

“Memorial Day is a good time for all Americans to give thanks for our hard-fought freedoms,” writes Dr. Jerry Newcombe, Executive Director of Providence Forum, “to think of the bloody footprints in the snow at Valley Forge of our soldiers who endured that savage winter of 1777-1778. They did it for us. Jesus said it best, ‘No greater love has anyone than that he lay down his life for his friends’” (John 15:13).

We Must Not Forget

Commemorating Memorial Day is vital to America’s future and to not forget our military men and women who served and fought for our country throughout the decades: to reflect on, remember, remind, and recognize the fight, the cost, the sorrow, and the sacrifices, how they have paid dearly with their lives, so that we may live and enjoy the blessings of freedom today.

The grief and sorrow over the years for many has been overwhelming. It is especially tragic for close family and friends, where wars and worldwide conflicts have brought deep sorrow and loss to countless American families who have lost their loved ones serving with one of our Armed Forces: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or U.S. Coast Guard.

Before his presidency, our 40th President, Ronald Reagan, spoke on March 30, 1961, to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce: "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well-taught lessons of how they, in their lifetime, must do the same. And if you and I don't do this, then you and I may well spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free." 

America’s freedom endures through our taking time to express our gratitude to God for His hand in leading our nation and through recognizing the countless individuals who have sacrificed their lives for the freedom we enjoy today across our country.

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father, 

Lead us to commemorate Memorial Day in a way that honors You and the lives You created. Let us recognize the sanctity of life and the priceless value and worth You have given to each fallen military member’s life.

Thank You for each and every life in America’s Armed Forces. Help us not to ever forget their sacrifice, of laying down their lives for their friends and the nation’s causes.

As well, O Lord, bring physical, emotional, and spiritual healing and restoration to those who have been wounded while serving and have experienced the loss of their fellow servicemen and women. 

Comfort them, along with all the families who have suffered tremendous pain and sorrow, as they deal with and remember their fallen loved ones.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©Church & Culture Team/Alli Main

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

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