I wrote this prayer on one of those days when I was finding the news of the world too hard to watch. I offered it in worship on Feb. 23 and soon discovered I wasn’t the only one finding it hard to watch.
A Prayer For Those Days When You Can’t Bear to Watch
Gracious and merciful God, you are the giver of life, the source of all knowledge and wisdom, the root of all that is good and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered his life in love that we might live in love. Father, our Lord taught us to watch and pray, but it has become too hard to watch when the world around seems to have turned its back on decency and the rule of law, abandoning friends and allies to embrace wicked foes. It is too hard to look when heroes have targets placed on their backs and villains are allowed to go free. We confess that we often turn the channel when people are dying in our streets having overdosed on drugs laced with poison. We don’t want to see the news when the first item each morning seems to be related to a shooting the night before. O Lord it is so hard to watch when truth has been Xed out and misinformation and lies are endlessly paraded as facts. And even though we can’t watch, help us dear Lord to pray for this world. We ask you to restore the fortunes of those victimized by greed, terror and warfare. Lift up, as you promised, the oppressed and impoverished and bring the haughty and proud down from their thrones. Reduce the kingdoms of the wicked to rubble. Bring racial and economic justice and healing to all held back, overlooked, discriminated against and even hated because prejudice, fear and loathing seem to rule the day. Creator, Redeemer, we pray too for the environment of this world, asking that citizens, rulers, nations and corporations would all protect and care for this beautiful planet.
Above all O Lord, when unable to watch we fail to be your eyes and ears in this world, empower us by your Holy Spirit to be the mouth of Christ speaking truth to power and wisdom to fools. And by your Spirit grant that we might be your hands and feet in this world; hands to lift up the fallen and broken; and feet to be present for those alone and abandoned; feet to run the race before us strong and brave to face the foe; hands to fight the good fight with all our might; believing that Christ is our strength, and Christ our right.
Now, open our eyes Lord we want to see Jesus and see your kingdom cone on earth as it is in heaven. O God, forgive us for closing our eyes and open then now to all that is good and beautiful that in the name of Jesus who taught us to watch and pray we might indeed live rejoicing every day. Keep our hearts fixed O God on that happy day when met the One who washed our sins away. Help us to forgive and to live in your grace that our hearts might always be open and alert to love and beauty. We rejoice in wonder of winter as the deep snow protects the seeds of life beneath from the deadly cold. In the name of Jesus who forgives us our sin and conquered the grave and death that we might not live in fear, increase our faith that we might dare to dream and hope for that day when the lion shall lie down with the lamb and in the name of the One who is both lion and lamb plant the tree of peace until that day when you swing wide the gates to your garden and welcome where our eyes shall behold him face to face and our hands embrace him and our feet leap for joy. Amen.
JPH
