God, you can seem elusive.
There are times when your silence is loud.
We lift to you now those who are struggling
with emptiness and absence…

…the lonely,
and all who are hollowed out by grief.

…the marginalised,
and all who feel worthless.

…the exhausted,
and all who are without hope.

Loving God, make your presence known.
Help us to carry it with us
into places where there is suffering.

Stir us to remember
that from the very beginning
an empty space – a formless void – has been
your favourite raw material to work with.

May our own emptiness
be, to you, an invitation,
room for your Spirit to play.

Photo: Ely Cathedral, England — Ana Gobledale