God of many names,
May the beautiful diversity of the people created in your image remind us of the multiplicity of ways we can each experience you.
Too often, we place ourselves into a category of us or them, not realizing that you are beyond us, with us, and within us, each of us, all the time.
So God, help us as we seek to find you, to look to others, even those who look different than we do, who live differently, who love differently, and who believe differently.
In our own lands, we are often so divided that it can feel overwhelming to even try to imagine what the future may look like. We lift up the United States, where the National Guard is deployed in Chicago, Portland, and other cities to supposedly assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement. All the while thousands are still missing, displaced, or underwater in Alaska after a deadly typhoon hit on Monday. We pray that resources might be used to help the vulnerable rather than harm them. We pray for Madagascar, where youth-led anti-government protests demanding better government, more opportunities, and an answer to help the extreme poverty the country faces have led to a military rebellion in which Col. Michael Randrianirina will take over as President. So we pray for new systems that will better care for the people and lead to a more promising future for the youth of the nation.
May we experience you in the helping hands of caring neighbors and the hands holding signs in advocacy for those who need our help.
Violence and war end the lives of your beloved creation too soon and too often. So we pray for war-torn nations all over the world, and pray with hope for the places where ceasefires are possible. We lift up Israel and Palestine, and pray that the loss of innocent lives ends, and pray for reparation after the intensified destruction of the last two years. We hold Pakistan and Afghanistan in the light, where fear and terror have taken hold more and more since 2021, as they have a temporary ceasefire and pray that a permanent ceasefire may be agreed upon.
With so much at stake all over our world today and every day, sometimes our prayers feel hopeless. Help us never to lose heart, as Jesus reminds us in the parable of the widow in Luke 18. May we be persistent in hope, persistent in love, and persistent in seeking your justice for all.
You know the prayers of each and every heart. May they be heard and answered. And, as we await an answer, may we become the answer.
May we experience you, O God, as living, breathing, and at work within us, each and every moment, until we are able to bring about your reign here on Earth.
Amen.
Leave a Reply