How's This for Being Relevant and Contemporary?

Did you know that, according to our Lutheran teaching and practice of the faith, every time we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," in the Lord's Prayer, we pray that our Father in heaven would give us faithful government leaders to "vanquish the Turks," i.e., Islamists, and that He would "preserve us from all sorts of disaster to body and livelihood, like lightning, hail, fire, flood, poison, plague, cattle disease, war and bloodshed, famine, destructive beasts, wicked men, and so forth?" [Luther's Large Catechism explanation to the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer as cited below from "Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions," Concordia Publishing House.*]

How do you get more contemporary and relevant than that with what we are facing in the Ebola and Islamic viruses invading our United States of America?

[Graphic: "Carlos Borromeo Signismomdo Caula (Roman Catholic Priest) Administering the Sacrament to Plaque Victims," artist unknown to this author.]

* The Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer.

71] Give us this day our daily bread.  72] Here, now, we consider the poor breadbasket, the necessaries of our body and of the temporal life. It is a brief and simple word, but it has a very wide scope. For when you mention and pray for daily bread, you pray for everything that is necessary in order to have and enjoy daily bread. On the other hand, you also pray against everything that interferes with it....

74] There is, indeed, the greatest need to pray for earthly authority and government. By them, most of all, God preserves for us our daily bread and all the comforts of this life. Though we have received from God all good things in abundance, we are not able to keep any of them or use them in security and happiness if He did not give us a permanent and peaceful government. For where there are dissension, strife, and war, there the daily bread is already taken away, or at least hindered....

76] ... On this topic anyone might indeed make a long prayer. With many words one could list all the things that are included, like when we ask God to ... give wisdom , strength, and success to emperors, kings, and all estates, and especially to the rulers of our country and to all counselors, magistrates, and officers. Then they may govern well and vanquish the Turks and all enemies.... 78] On the other hand, we ask that He would preserve us from all sorts of disaster to body and livelihood, like lightning, hail, fire, flood, poison, plague, cattle disease, war and bloodshed, famine, destructive beasts, wicked men, and so forth...."