Prayer for Proper 7C / Ordinary 12C / Pentecost +5

Oh God our Rock and Strong Deliverer,


We often wonder where you are when we go through troubling times.
It often feels like you are not here that you are more far away from us.
We can’t see you, we can’t feel you and we can’t hear you.
Sometimes we think you will speak to us in a loud voice, and sometimes you do.
Sometimes we think you have to make your appearance in some form of huge supernatural event,
And sometimes you do.
Sometimes we think you have to hit us over the head with a two by four since we can be so stubborn,
And you do find a way to get our attention.
And sometimes we forget that you speak to us through the silence and so just for a moment we sit silently waiting for you to speak…..
And as our hearts calm down and our breath becomes deeper and slower
We focus on you and can hear you…..
And as the tension in our body begins to relax as we give it over to you we are calmer
And can hear you in the midst of the silence…..


And we feel closer to you, filled with your love and grace as we breathe in your goodness into our lives
And as we listen to you…..
We feel we are wrapped in your arms and yet free to move about
And we hear you in a new way……
You enable us to then love the unloved, take away the negative labels from people, see them as you see them, love them as you love them……
We are empowered to reach out to those who are the unseen, the wounded, the lonely, the outcasts, just as your son reached out so long ago to those considered unclean….
And we are given a voice to tell others of what you have done for us and what you will do for them.


And Lord we now pray for those in our lives who are sick, homebound, in nursing homes, and rehabs…
We pray for those who are grieving…….
We pray for those who deal with mental illnesses, addictions, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic illnesses…..
We pray for all these and more your son taught us to pray…….

cross posted at rev abi's long and winding road