Recently, as I was reeling from one of the latest crises and flailing around for my center, I came across this prayer. Written by SueAnn Shiah, a self-described “musician, filmmaker, community organizer, ethnomusicologist, queer Christian pastor, and public theologian,” these words both provoked and comforted me. I share them with hope that you will find something of value in them, too (let me know!):
A Prayer for Steadfast Faith
Lord of all creation, you knitted us in our mother’s womb, and we are born into a world full of love, fear, comfort, and anxiety. Open our eyes to the blessings of beauty and care so that we might be transformed by that and share that outpouring in concert with all of your beloved creatures.Jesus Christ, the Word incarnate revealed to us in divine humility and human frailty, your flesh showed us the Way—sustain our struggles against the powers and principalities of the world, help us to hear the call to take up our crosses to follow you.
Holy Spirit, advocate against all the accusations of guilt, shame, and destruction that debilitate and seek to lead us astray from our true repentance and rest in God, soften our hearts and usher us into the victory of resurrection in the new heaven and new earth that we both fear and long so deeply for.
Amen,
