This week, Rabbi David Woznica explores prayer. In honor of Presidents Day, he has included a prayer from our first president, George Washington, who wrote the following in his prayer journal at Mount Vernon:
“Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto Thyself, the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in Thy fear, labor in Thy service, and ever to run in the ways of Thy commandments; make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy son Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in Thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life… bless my family, friends, and kindred.”
In this prayer, President Washington acknowledges that he turns to God for repentance. His words, “teach me to live in Thy fear,” mirror the Jewish concept of Yirat HaShem (“fear” or “awe” of God). Washington further acknowledges his “love of sin,” but expresses his desire to overcome it.
His prayer is a mix of asking God to help him to act in the ways of goodness, as well as asking for God’s blessings. In that regard, the prayer serves as a model for us all to consider.
— Rabbi David Woznica