O Lord our God,
We come before You today with hearts heavy and trembling, yet clinging to hope. You are the God of justice and mercy, of truth and tenderness, of sovereign power and intimate presence. While the world is confused and even despairing, we lift our voices to You in lament and in longing.
We grieve the death of Your servant, Charlie Kirk. Not as the world grieves, for we know that he did not die in vain. He was not merely a public figure or just a political voice. He was a faithful Christian, a courageous witness, a man whose convictions were shaped by Your Word and whose boldness was fueled by Your Spirit. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ and sought to bring biblical truth into every sphere of culture and government. And for this (his allegiance to Jesus, his unwavering stand for truth) he was killed.
Lord, we name this rightly: Charlie died a martyr. His blood was shed because he bore the name of Christ in a world that hates the light. As Abel’s innocent blood cried out from the ground, so Charlie’s does as well. And we believe, O God, that he now joins the great cloud of witnesses, the martyrs under the altar, who cry out, “How long, O Lord, until You judge and avenge our blood?”
Lord hear our prayer, for you are gracious
We pray now for his family—for Erika, for their children, for all who loved him. Comfort them, Lord Jesus, with Your gentle presence. Be near to them by Your Spirit, through Your Word, and through Your Church. May they feel the strength of Your everlasting arms and the tenderness of their gentle and lowly shepherd, Jesus. Assure them that Charlie’s death was precious in Your sight, and that his legacy will serve to make the grace and truth of Jesus beautiful; that Charlie’s life has served the advancement of God’s kingdom and the amplification of God’s glory.
Lord hear our prayer, for you are gracious
And we pray, astonishingly, for the family of the shooter. For the parents who turned in their own son, knowing the weight of what he had done and the fury of what would follow. Lord, You know what it is to deliver Your Son over to death. But Jesus was innocent. This young man was not. And yet, we plead for Your mercy. May justice be done—may the appropriate consequences be carried out with integrity and timeliness. But may mercy triumph in the granting of repentance. Save his soul, Lord, even if his body is destroyed. Open his eyes. Unstop his ears. Break the deception and pierce the blindness. And may the Kirk family, by the power of Your Spirit, walk in the footsteps of their Savior, saying, “Father, forgive him, for he knew not what he did.”
Lord hear our prayer, for you are gracious
I pray now for our church, and for the greater Church in America. Let Charlie’s example stir our hearts to courage and clarity and compassion. May we not be overcome by evil, but may we overcome evil with good. May we, too, be fluent in the gospel and bold in our witness. May our children see in us a courage that is rooted in Christ. May they grow up inspired – not by celebrity, but by conviction. May they not be lulled to sleep by comfort and convenience, nor deceived and radicalized by the doctrines of demons, nor bullied into passivity or compliance with anti-Christ ideologies… No, Lord, please guard their hearts and their minds as they live in Christ Jesus! May they pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Lord hear our prayer, for you are gracious
We ask that You would enable us to live a life worthy of Your calling. May you give us the power to accomplish all the good things that our faith prompts us to do. May the name of our Lord Jesus be honored because of the way we live. By the grace of God, my we faithfully steward and rejoice in the sufferings of Christ that we may also share in His glory (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12).
Raise up churches, Lord, that preach the whole counsel of God. That equip the saints for the work of ministry. That teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness. That serve “the least of these” and seek the welfare of the cities and the nation they live in. May we not retreat from culture, but reform it! We intercede for America, beginning right here in Elmira.
Lord hear our prayer, for you are gracious
We remember the words of Tertullian: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Martyrdom doesn’t extinguish the Church, it fertilizes it! So let revival come, Lord. Let Charlie’s death be a spark of spiritual awakening. Fill Your people with the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Send us into our neighborhoods, our counties, our country, and to the ends of the earth. Let our children be commissioned as missionaries, as reformers, as witnesses who are bold and tender, wise and winsome, that all who see and hear may come to know that your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, is the Lord who is risen and reigning over the whole world.
We ask that what we have not, you would give us; what we know not, you would teach us; and what we are not, you would make us; all for the glory of your beloved Son, Jesus, who lives and reigns with you, together with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever praised. Amen.
Joel serves as a pastor at Emmanuel Community Church, He has degrees in Child Development (Mental Health) and Counseling Psychology and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Joel works part-time at the church and part-time as an addictions counselor and Family Care Coordinator at Bradford Recovery Center (a residential drug and alcohol treatment center). Joel and Gina have been married for 14 years, and they have six children: Ava, Jude, Josiah, Malachi, Kira, and Lily. He loves being outdoors, playing volleyball and soccer, learning about emotions, philosophy, and theology, and is a shameless chocoholic.
