These prayers are based on Proverbs 3:1-20. This scripture is full of beautiful imagery for God: a tree of life and source of water; a loving parent and source of mystery. May these prayers carry the humility and wonder of your own!
Peace,
Anna
O Lord, you are a tree of life,
Shading us in mercy and grounding us in love.
O Lord, you are a refreshing spring,
Washing our wounds with compassion
and reviving our bodies with strength.
O Lord, you are a whisper, a breeze,
Blowing through the world with winds of justice and calls to change.
We give you thanks, O God, for the goodness your grace
And the good things in your world.
When we feel desperate, you surprise us with hope.
When we find ourselves alone, you call us to companionship.
When we are certain that we are right,
you confront us with with your righteousness.
Bind your good news to our lives, O God.
Write it on the tablets of our hearts
And paint it on the landscapes of our lives.
We pray, O Lord, in humility and in wonder.
Keep us in your mercy: bound to you and to one another.
We pray, O God, for places and people in your beloved world that are hurting.
For the people of Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas,
affected by or recovering from the recent shootings.
For people who live in the fear or the reality
of being separated from their families.
For people whose fear has turned to hatred,
Whose suffering has turned to violence,
And whose faith has morphed into a dangerous ideology.
We pray, O Lord, in humility and in wonder.
Keep us in your mercy: bound to you and to one another.
We pray for people in our community who are suffering:
[Name the prayer concerns of your specific community.]
For others, known to you and named in the silence of our hearts.
We pray, O Lord, in humility and in wonder.
Keep us in your mercy: bound to you and to one another.
In the name of Christ,
Amen.
And also with you. 