Personal Journal Archive — Addendum: A Prayer for Our Nation

In a recent September 2026 journal entry, Al Timberlane added an addendum titled “A Prayer for Our Nation.” Presented here in its entirety, this personal journal prayer reflects on the people, towns, musicians, families, communities, and places encountered along the road during America’s 250th anniversary year.

Addendum — A Prayer for Our Nation

September 20, 2026

From New York to San Francisco. From Tijuana to Maine. I pray for this great nation.

But where can I begin?

Maybe I begin with the places we have been, the people we have talked with, the communities we have visited, and the groups of people we have come to love.

I pray for my hometown of Leslie, Arkansas, and for all of the towns and families in between along Music Highway 66 on the way to Mountain View. I pray for the homes, churches, businesses, farms, musicians, working people, and families who make up those communities.

I pray for Mountain View, Arkansas — the Folk Music Capital of the World. I pray for the people who gather for Bean Fest, the Arkansas Folk Festival, the Fourth of July parade, bluegrass festivals, and all of the celebrations that bring people together.

I pray for those who have come and gone and for all the musicians in between. I pray for the Jimmy Driftwood Barn, the Ozark Folk Center, the O.K. Trading Post, the rodeos, and all of the musicians, storytellers, craftsmen, families, and visitors who keep these traditions alive.

I pray for all of my friends in Texas — Anderson, College Station, Blinn College, Texas A&M, Austin, Houston, the Rio Grande, King Ranch, SpaceX, and the many towns, ranches, farms, churches, businesses, festivals, and music venues spread across that enormous state and down toward the Gulf.

I pray for the Southern Gospel venues and the different festivals and music venues we have visited in Texas. I pray for the musicians, ranchers, farmers, business owners, families, and all of the people we have met there.

I pray for the owners, staff, and all who visit Newman’s Castle and Newman’s Bakery in Texas. May those places continue to bring people together through history, hospitality, food, family, and community.

Then my prayers travel north to Nebraska.

I pray for Brent and Teresa’s Pickin’ on the Porch, for their farm, and for everyone who gathers there to make music and share fellowship.

I pray for the vast prairies of Nebraska, for the cattle ranchers, the farmers, and the families whose lives are tied to that land.

I pray for those who travel across those great open spaces and for the people who work along the railroads, including those connected with the Union Pacific, whose trains continue rolling across Nebraska and into Iowa.

I pray for the men and women serving at our military installations and Air Force bases in Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, and throughout the United States.

I pray for Iowa, for its valleys, farms, communities, and people.

And I especially pray for our friends at Rayne’s Muzic Fest. I pray for the musicians, festival organizers, venue owners, vendors, families, and everyone who works to keep live music alive.

May God bless the people who operate those venues. May they find good musicians, good audiences, and enough support to strengthen both the music and the communities around them.

Then I pray for the great state of Indiana.

I pray for The Van Dyke Acoustic Review.

I pray for John Van Dyke, whom we recently honored for a lifetime of dedication to music, folklore, and the arts.

I pray for Dave Van Dyke, for his work in education and his interest in science, history, writing, songwriting, storytelling, and music. I pray for the songwriters and storytellers who use music to preserve the stories of families, communities, and the people.

Then I pray for the great state of Michigan.

I pray for the automotive industry that helped shape Michigan — for Ford Motor Company, General Motors and its Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick brands, and Stellantis and its Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands. I pray for the factories, engineers, mechanics, assembly workers, tool-and-die makers, parts suppliers, battery and powertrain workers, designers, drivers, dealers, and families connected with an industry that still supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across Michigan.

I pray for Detroit and Motown, for Lansing, Jackson, Traverse City, Tecumseh, Coldwater, Spring Arbor, the communities along the Indiana border, the towns along the Great Lakes, and the Upper Peninsula.

I pray that Michigan will continue to be a place where people design, manufacture, build, educate, farm, create music, develop new ideas, and raise their families.

I pray for the people who serve in state and local government, that they will make thoughtful decisions, build on sound foundations, and remember the families and communities affected by those decisions.

Then I pray for Ohio.

I pray for Lima and Delphos, where we are spending this time with family.

I pray for Columbus Grove and the Columbus Grove Fall Festival, for the musicians we met there, the vendors, the businesspeople, the organizers, and the women who give their time and energy to their community.

I pray for the small towns that may never make the national headlines but are still important parts of this country.

I pray for the families who live there, the businesses trying to survive, the churches, schools, farmers, musicians, tradespeople, and volunteers who keep those towns going.

And I pray for St. Louis, where East and West meet beneath the Gateway Arch along the Mississippi River, reminding us of the generations who traveled, explored, settled, worked, and built communities across America.

I also pray for Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, for all who live there today and all who will live there in the future.

I pray for our national leaders, including President Donald J. Trump and his staff, for our representatives and senators, and for all of those who work in the federal government.

I pray that those entrusted with public service would seek wisdom, exercise good judgment, remember the people and communities they represent, and understand the responsibility that comes with serving the nation.

I pray also for the people behind the scenes — staff members, clerks, maintenance workers, police officers, military personnel, drivers, cooks, teachers, visitors, families, and the many other people whose daily lives are connected with Washington.

May Washington always remember that beyond its buildings, monuments, offices, and institutions, its purpose is service to the people of the United States.

Everywhere Becky and I have traveled, we have found people working, raising families, making music, helping their neighbors, building businesses, farming the land, serving communities, and trying to leave something worthwhile behind.

Those are the people I pray for.

I pray for our nation — not simply its great cities, but its little towns, farms, ranches, churches, schools, factories, workshops, music halls, radio stations, festivals, highways, railroads, rodeos, front porches, and family homes.

I pray for the people who build.

I pray for the people who serve.

I pray for the people who teach.

I pray for the people who create.

I pray for the farmers who plant.

I pray for the workers who manufacture.

I pray for the musicians who play and sing.

I pray for the storytellers who preserve our memories.

I pray for the families trying to raise their children well.

I pray for the communities trying to hold on to the things that bring people together.

And I pray for the musicians who carry our stories from one generation to another.

Above all, I pray that we remember something simple:

A nation is not merely lines drawn on a map.

A nation is its people.

It is the people we have met and the people we have yet to meet.

It is the families we know and millions of families whose names we will never know.

It is the people in Leslie and Mountain View, in Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, St. Louis, Washington, New York, San Francisco, and everywhere in between.

May God watch over them.

May God give us wisdom.

May God strengthen our families and communities.

And may God bless the United States of America.

Where Do Prayers Come From?

Where do prayers come from?

My father and mother prayed for me in our small town. Their father and mother before them prayed for them. And their father and mother before them prayed for them.

I remember a story of my grandmother, who lived to be 103 years old. She would tell us how she would read the Bible through, and that was wonderful.

But my favorite story was when she would tell us that she would start from her youngest to her oldest, and all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and pray for them by name, one by one.

She did this weekly, and sometimes it would take a couple of days to get through all of the names.

After all, she was 103 when she passed away.

And when I think about prayer today, I think about that.

I think about the prayers that were spoken over me before I was old enough to understand them. I think about the prayers my parents prayed, and the prayers their parents prayed before them.

Maybe prayer is something we inherit.

Not as an obligation, but as a gift.

A reminder that someone came before us, knew our name, loved us, and took the time to pray for us.

And perhaps one of the greatest things we can do for the generation that comes after us is simply to pray.

“Imagine tomorrow today. Put your faith in God, and He will move mountains for you.”

— Al Timberlane