PRAYER
Father, Hear Our
Prayers.
We know that:
"Not least of the things in life which
embody joy, sorrow, and
care, is the sword;
born in the fire and baptized in blood,
mirroring the light, and dealing the darkness;
nor has its horror and fascination vanished
from the earth we know."
As Arizona Rangers,
we carry not the sword.
We carry a
variation of the weapon made famous by the
Biblical David, when he overcame
the giant Goliath.
When David
defended Israel from the enemy, an enemy
intending destruction.
A weapon
of the shepherd, that delivers a missile from afar,
to protect his sheep from the
wolves.
As Arizona
Rangers, each of us carries a weapon, a modern
variant of the shepherd's
missile hurling mechanism.
Our device
also hurls missiles, but now accompanied with
fire, and sound, and fury.
Yeah Lord,
we are armed with weapons of destruction, but
with defense our only goal,
defense from enemies bearing blight
and destruction into the world
that we know.
Dear Father, we pray for Thy Guidance
at all times.
We pray that we are never called upon
to deal the darkness.
As
voluntary defenders, protectors, of Thy loving, law-
abiding people, guide us to
respond appropriately and confidently
if we are ever called upon to
subdue an enemy in our world.
We pray for Thy Blessings, Guidance, and Love at all times.
Father,
Bless Us to Thy Services. Amen.
Chaplain
John H. Van Arsdel, Badge Nr 415.
Sierra
Vista Company, Arizona Rangers
Prayer
(as recalled) Christmas Party, 12/19/97. Reduced
to writing per request of other Arizona Rangers.
(quote (as remembered!) Attributed to Edgar Rice Burroughs circa 1940.))
