An Inaugural Prayer...

Rick Warren took a lot of heat over his invitation and acceptance to pray at President Obama's inauguration ceremony. He took heat from all sides - atheists, believers, churches, and anti-religious groups. I thought he was a great choice. And I thought he delivered a great prayer. Here's just a portion of the opening part of the prayer:

Almighty God, our Father:
Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.
It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.
History is your story.
The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

(You can read the entire text of the prayer, along with Pastor Mark Driscoll's comments, by clicking here.)

A lot of people discredit and criticize Rick Warren for a lot of different reasons. In my opinion, he loves God, loves God's church, and loves people too much to see them live without a relationship with a loving God. And in my opinion, his inaugural prayer was top-notch.