This guest post is by Ian Simkins.
For the times we have been too distracted to feel deeply and respond fully to injustice.
O LORD, FORGIVE US
For the times our own hearts fill with hatred and malice for those who inflict pain.
O LORD, FORGIVE US
For the times we have failed to feel fully the breaking of your own heart.
O LORD, FORGIVE US
For the ways we have not invited you into our own suffering.
O LORD, FORGIVE US
For the ways we have caused you and others pain.
O LORD, FORGIVE US
God of comfort, grant us peace: Our hearts are broken, our souls heavy. Our sorrow is a weight around our necks–sinking our feet deep into the mire of despair. Deliver those buried this moment under a burden of misery.
God of justice, grant us hope: We proclaim that Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, yet we confess that the sin and brokenness we see around us is a bitter reminder of a Kingdom not yet fully come. May we be agents of your justice in every crack and crevice of our lives.
God of power, grant us strength: We know that the same force that spoke the universe into existence is alive in each of us, yet our spirits are so very weary. How long, oh Lord, must communities be torn and fractured by senseless violence? How we are desperate for your vitality and courage.
God… [Read more…] about A Prayer of Lament (Alton Sterling, Philando Castile)