God of our Longings,
The German root of longing, langen, is ‘reach, extend.’
We reach and extend our hands and hearts to You.
We reach and extend our hands and hearts to each other as we see so much that is broken and longing to be made whole again.
We long for deep and lasting peace between and among us. May we see the belovedness of our fellow kin, in…
- Palestine and Israel.
- In the United States where Jews and Muslims have been targets of hate-crimes.
- In Myanmar where fighting has broken out and in Sudan where there have been ethnic killings.
- In Ukraine as the cold of winter sets in and violence continues.
- On the United States border as a growing migrant caravan comes from Central America, South America and Mexico.
We long for deep change in how we tend and treat the earth.
We pray for places suffering due to extreme weather events…
- flooding in Kenya due to El Nino.
- recovery from Hurricane Otis in Mexico.
- for those grieving and healing after earthquakes in Nepal.
- For those in countries around the world feeling the effects after an abnormally warm autumn – butterflies still being seen into November.
The Dutch root for longing is, langen, is ‘present, offer’
Each of us has something to offer into the fabric of our tapestry world. That looks different for us each, and it is all needed. Give us the courage to listen for where we are being called to offer our unique gifts.
We give thanks for the creativity of a Japanese company working to make a battery from cotton and seawater.
We celebrate the courage of a couple from the UK delivering aid to the frontlines in Ukraine.
We pray with Ahmed and Yuval, a Palestinian and Israeli, two 29-year-old writers who began Across the Wall in 2019, forming a friendship across countries and conflict through a shared loved of written words and peace.
The Old English, langian, is ‘dwell in thought, yearn.’
We dwell in the vastness of your love through each of our yearnings. The human heart and spirit is so expansive. We see that in the incredible lost French love letters from the 1750’s written during wartime just now found by a British Historian. The pen scrawls express love and love and love.
You hold us in love as we hold each other, as we hold ourselves our dreams, pains and prayers.
May everyone on this Earth with our particular longings – feel Your particular love for us each, for us all.
In the name of Jesus who knew what it is to have longings,
Amen.
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