God, you who are ultimately in control,
the fury and pain and death of this world are before us this day.
We weep over the hunger, war, conflict, and hate cursing the landscape of the earth,
wasting lives that barely had a chance,
lives that fell victim to forces greater than peaceful, preventive measures could halt.
The people living with us on our planet are displaced, disenchanted, disillusioned.
Your people now groan in pain and travail.
Will the hatred, the cheating, and depersonalization never cease?
Lives are maimed, cornered, confused, misused, enslaved,
and left to die on lonely roads at the end of shattered dreams.
The prayers of the broken, the innocent, the depressed, the grieving ones cry out to You.
Prayers of the faithful join in chorus for the deliverance of the suffering.
Raise up brave women and men to work toward justice and peace
against the forces of evil that trample human dignity and destroy human freedom.
Let us not think to walk among the cries of the starving, the pleas of the poor, the pain of the homeless and live indifferently.
Forgive our tendencies to not get involved to help bring peace.
May we not just say words,
but take a towel and kneel at the feet of the suffering.
Discipline us.
Motivate us.
With the Christ who lives inside us,
help us toil in the centre of the world’s pain.
May our prayers blossom into positive service
as Christ pervades our minds and actions
which shows that we are citizens of the Realm of God
with its offer for salvation and peace, hope and joy.
James is an ordained minister serving in the Disciples of Christ USA.
