prayer

Lord God, whose power is the power of love in pursuit of justice, we pray for our broken world.

Forgive us when we close our ears and eyes to the relentless deluge of heart-breaking news and endless analysis, of facts and figures, of graphic images of human suffering and human cruelty.

Give us inner strength to overcome compassion fatigue, so that we never stop caring; renew in us the power of conscience to recognise and to name injustice and cruelty; give us words to pray, and words to say that make for peace and reconciliation, in a world divided into enemies and allies and everyone claiming they are right and everyone else is wrong.

God of Love, Mercy and Justice,  we follow the crucified and risen Jesus, the one called the Prince of Peace. Help us today to kneel at the cross and look again at the cost of forgiveness and the price of reconciliation; then help us to stand at the empty tomb and hear the words of life, “He is not here – he is risen!”

So may we in our daily lives be peacemakers, bridge-builders, life-givers, couriers and carriers of the love of God, light shining in the shadows of fear and sadness, ambassadors of Christ whose message is spoken in acts of grace and words of healing and forgiveness.

God of grace, use us, each one of us, in your ministry of compassion for the broken; equip us, each one of us, with the gift of a forgiving spirit and a passion for reconciliation.

Strengthen us, each one of us, to speak the truth in love, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you, our God

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation