Prayer

Prayer
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…”
From 1 John 1:7
 
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
 
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
 
The separation is deep, Father. It is a chasm corroding the foundation of all we believe. It is a  wide and seemingly bottomless trench dug with lies and disputes and hateful rhetoric. It is a wall built of bitterness and suspicion and division. We can’t fix this, Father. Like little children who have made a mess too big to clean up on our own, we need Daddy’s help. We really don’t know what to do, where to begin. We’re not even entirely sure how it got this way. We would love to blame the people on the other side of the wall, Father, those across the chasm, but deep down we know it isn’t that simple. It’s our fault, too. We did nothing to stop it, and we played the game we were goaded into. So we need You—desperately.
 
From the time of the very first sin, Lord, You have saved us, over and over and over again. We don’t deserve Your mercy, Your grace, Your pardon, or Your rescue; but we’re asking for it anyway. We’re pleading for it, in fact. And we do so with confidence, because amid all the uncertainty of this moment, we are certain of one thing: Your love for us. We know You care. We know we are precious to you. We know You can help us to achieve what we cannot achieve by ourselves.
 
And so we ask: Help us, Abba. Fill us with Your Spirit. Give us bold courage, Lord. Give us right words at opportune times. Put the truth, told in love, into our mouths. Give us Your hands, Your feet, Your heart, and Your words, Lord. Help us to find a way forward that is loving but uncompromising, meek but strong, faithful but respectful. Keep us from anger and vengefulness and bitterness and despair. Turn our hearts toward You. Guide us to do as You ask—to pray for our enemies, to bless those that curse us. Keep us walking in light, Lord, and show us the way.
 
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
 
Hear our prayer.
 
Lord, come quickly.
 
Amen.