expecting everybody else to step up to the plate and be what they are. Let’s continue to be what we are,” Hoyt said, adding that he sought to be as inclusive as he could with the theology that he owned.
Here’s the BUA prayer Hoyt offered on July 28, 2007. “Lord God, we are in that most difficult of jobs to win a war without loving it. We do not shirk the battle. We ask wisdom to keep our balance. Teach us O Lord, to live both of these truths. We serve in Iraq leaving behind our ‘real life’ so we can work in the ‘real life’ mission we are trained to conduct. We pursue our craft with a genuine selfless attitude, yet we do not overlook Your ceaseless Grace.
“We reenlist with commitment to our job, but postpone reviving our hearts in relationship with You for the days ahead. We are consumed with what we do; and we are prone to forget what You have done. Thank You Lord for Your eternal patience and still, small voice that tells us life is not meant to be a series of trade offs, but a triumph of faith. Help us to exchange in faith that which we cannot keep in order to gain that which we cannot lose.”
Thank you for reminding me that above power and might, you move through the spirit.
“It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
March 25
BUA PRAYER: THEY LOOKED FORWARD TO IT
We got many, many requests for the prayers and many compliments from other nations routinely asking for them. The couple of Sundays that the BUA prayer didn’t happen, the commanding general was personally asked by other members of the staff and coalition, “Where was the prayer today?” They looked forward to it.
Whatever the chaplain said at the BUA, he had to make it brief. Time was a factor. As a result, Hoyt composed only a few lines at time, something that could be read in less than a minute. Here’s the BUA prayer from April 7, 2007 with an introduction from Scripture:
“Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how’ (Matthew 27:65) but “I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9– 10).
“Thank You God we do not own the final solution. Even when we think we have all things carefully wrapped up in our plans and means, truly we are the ones shrouded in the mystery of life eternal under Your conditions. Nothing is final with You until You declare it so. Even at the consummation of the Age it is Your Holy and unstoppable purpose to make all things new.
“You make fresh Your mercies for us each day. You interfere upon our designs with a loving deliverance that remakes our hearts and redeems a soul even after we have long buried the idea of a second chance! Nothing unravels the weight of guilt and the sepulchers of excuses like Your Holy forgiveness. Nothing resurrects a new horizon to a lost vision like Your promise that all things are possible in faith. And nothing heals our wounded bodies, comrades, relationships like the bona fide example of a living God who makes death a by word, and suffering a benediction in the vocabulary of victory.
“Remind us of the strength of an unbreakable and immortal promise in You. Lead us in our worship to the rendezvous with your Almighty power. And bring to us this week those unexpected, unthought of appearances from You that sets our hearts aflame with the joyful news nothing is final until it is complete in You. Amen.”
Thank you for firmly establishing your purpose. Show your purpose for me today. May I live my life fully in your will.
“My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:10)
March 26
BUA PRAYER: SEPTEMBER 11, 2006
The anniversary of September 11, 2006, brought an opportunity for Multinational Force-Iraq Command Chaplain, CH Colonel Mike Hoyt to deliver a special prayer during the commemorative ceremony in the Green Zone at the temporary U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
“Almighty and Everlasting God, We gather today in the shade of Your enduring love to mark terrible moments in our past and express convictions of hope for our future. We acknowledge Your Majesty holds all of our experience in the grip of Your Eternity. Nothing we remember or endeavor to achieve removes us from Your Sovereignty, even when events seem to distance us from Your Love. You do not change. We come in prayer relying upon Your constancy of character, eternal purpose, and abiding love to be our guide.”
“We will not and cannot forget the acts of terror thrust upon our world September 11, 2001. Neither will we become a part of terror’s bitter cycle. So we come, in the posture of prayer, humbling our hearts first as we remember the triumph of good over evil.
“We humbly ask You to carry our prayer of compassion towards those friends and families who face each day bereaved of a loved one killed in this battle against evil. Comfort them in Your Holy hug as the God of this Universe and help us to remember the outcomes of our labor keep sacred their loving sacrifice.
“We beseech Your miracles of healing upon the maimed and wounded bodies of those smashed in the vice of terror. Restore their confidence in the good works of humanity and grant them a zeal for life.
“We pray for our enemies… we do not know how. We cannot excuse their conduct or negotiate with their evil. We freely admit their actions are beyond our reach but well within Yours. Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. Show us paths of reconciliation and guard us from the self made tyranny that fails to see the beam in our own eye so that we may walk the road of redemption with integrity.
“Inspire in us, through Your works of Grace, a forgiving spirit. Equip us in the duty of justice to remember mercy. Protect us from the deceptions of might and power so we may see Your works and hear Your still, small voice.
“Finally, Great and Merciful God You who exact the destinies of nations from the character of its citizens we pray for our future. Remove the stumbling blocks of international strife and bring to our leaders the strength and wisdom from above. So that one day we may ‘beat our swords into plowshares and each man may dwell in safety under his vine and his fig tree’. Amen.”
Thank you for sending your justice and righteousness like a flowing stream with consistency and power.
“Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
