Note: This was the pastoral prayer given on September 14, 2025, in light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The text read prior was Psalm 94, which the prayer is modeled after.
Heavenly Father,
You are perfectly holy. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. There isn’t one act, one scheme, one wicked word or intention that escapes your sight. You see the depths of every heart. Every thought is as bare and visible to you as though it were in broad daylight. You hear. You see. You even rebuke nations, and it is nothing to you, God.
And so, O Lord, God of vengeance, we pray that you would shine forth. Please exercise your perfect judgment upon the wicked.
May it not be like man’s judgement… may it not be partial, or weak, or misapplied, or according to thoughtless passion like our judgement so often is.
May it be pure, issuing from the holiness that not even heavenly angels can set their eyes upon. May it be complete. May it stand as a warning against the wicked. May it shut the mouths of those who so callously promote wickedness and celebrate wickedness.
Please act in such a way, we pray, that all would know that there is a God in heaven and that He does not forsake His people.
But until that time, Lord, please make us patient. Teach us, reprove us, correct us, and train us in righteousness according to your word, so that we may fear you and obey you.
Discipline us as your children so that we would be angry and not sin. So that we would love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So that we would not take vengeance into our own hands, but that we would leave it to you. That we wouldn’t return evil for evil but overcome evil with good.
And to that end, Lord, we pray that you would destroy your enemies. We pray first that you would destroy them by making them your friends. Father, we pray for Charlie Kirk’s killer. He committed a heinous act. He murdered a husband, a father, a friend, and an incredible witness to the truth of the gospel. He stole the life of an image bearer of God.
Convince him of his sin, O God. Pierce his heart with the truth of what he’s done. Open His eyes. Turn him from His sin. From the power of Satan and darkness, and to the light of your beloved Son!
Father, you forgave your servant David after he committed murder. You forgave the apostle Paul, the chief of sinners, the persecutor of the church, who stood approvingly over the death of your servant Stephen. You brought them grace and salvation in your Son, and so we ask you to be merciful even here. May he escape eternal judgment in Christ.
And Lord, we pray the same for all who have celebrated this heinous act.
But if not Lord, if it is not your will, if they will not repent and find shelter in your Son, then we ask that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Bring their iniquity back on them. Wipe them out for their wickedness. And please come quickly in judgment.
Lord, we confess our own sins. We confess that we have struggled to look to you in faith during these difficult days. We have let our passions cloud our judgment. We have trusted ourselves rather than looking to your word. We have not honored you as holy, feared you, or kept guard over our tongues. We have not been careful to put to death the evil, vengeful thoughts that we know to be wrong. We have not loved our enemies from our hearts like we know our Savior perfectly did.
Please forgive us. Please cleanse us.
And Father, we thank you that our sins are forgiven in your perfect Son, who died to save His enemies. We give you the glory, honor, and praise because He took us from being enemies and made us friends, by the power of His blood.
Finally, Lord, help Erika Kirk and their children. And help your church. Help us to remember who it is that rises up for us against the wicked, who it is who stands up for us against the evildoers; It is the Lord, full of steadfast love; the Lord, who cheers our souls.
We pray all of this in the wonderful, merciful name of our Savior Jesus,
Amen.