God, there are hardly any words for these times.
You promise that when we are in these unfathomable places
Your very Spirit intercedes with groans too deep for words.
We need that now, as we groan through our exhausted bodies and tattered hearts.
May our groans be prayer, be release for all we feel without the label of words.
We are tired of the list of pained places in the world, added to daily.
Thank you that you know each created cry on this earth with such intimacy that
You know each unique groan you groan with each specific voicing.
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Whether that groan be the wails of grief and rage we hear in the echoes of gunfire
in the United States or in silence after a missile hits Ukraine.
In the gnawing constant belly groan of hunger that more and more are feeling
globally, especially in Afghanistan and South Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia and Honduras.
In the groans of 31 adults and children who were killed in a stampede in Nigeria
at a church event to help those in need.
And the 22 people killed in a plane crash in Nepal.
In the howl of dust storms through the Middle East from Iraq to Saudi Arabia,
hospitalizing thousands.
In the hurricane rains and winds that killed 11 in Mexico and 100 in Brazil.
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Thank you that we do not only hear the groans of pain.
That our groans come from our longing and love.
Turn each groan into the cry of labor pains.
You midwife us in birthing the more beautiful world we know is possible.
We see it, hear it all around, so close to the groans of agony is the music of the creative,
the good, the beautiful. We give thanks for…
Artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo who use trash to create fantastical costumes highlighting the country’s problems,
including pollution, poverty, lack of healthcare and overconsumption.
The groan of “enough!” as Korean K-Pop stars from the band BTS spoke at the United States
White House against anti-Asian violence.
The music of Femme Africaine, a 7-member girl band in Benin, who sing
awareness about genital cutting, child marriage and gender quality.
The sigh of scales balancing as the new Australian prime minister
appointed a record 10 women to his cabinet.
And gratitude that Canada, committed to not hearing the groans of gun violence,
changed laws around handguns.
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Holy one, you hear each and every groan across the world
You hold precious the groans of every emotion
and groan with both our despair and our delight.
May we feel You with us in this word-less place.
Filling our bodies and hearts with Your Presence as we cry out.
We groan our Amen.
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