I shared this prayer with a class at Eden Theological Seminary and thought with news of new violence in the Middle East over the weekend it might be of use to you. - CC
My God, my God,
why are you forsaking us?
Why is there no answer when we call?
Why are you so far from helping your people
when the anguished cry goes up to you day and night
in Ramallah and Hebron, Gaza and Jerusalem,
in Beit Jala and Beersheba, Tel Aviv and Bethlehem?
O God,
hear the cries of your children.
hear their muffled moans, their tortured breathing
in the corridors of Makassad and Augusta Victoria hospitals.
They are the cries of your own child, abandoned and forsaken.
O God,
hear the cries of your people
as you did in Egypt in ancient days,
as you did in South Africa, Namibia, Guatemala, Russia,
as you did in Berlin when the trumpets sounded and the Wall
came down.
O God,
move with power,
as in the days when Pharaoh ruled the land
move now, lead the way, break the yoke, part the sea,
enough blood is on the door post; let your people go free.
O God,
free us too who watch in silence
from safe shores far away,
forgive our silence, our complicity
in sending these weapons that have killed and maimed.
Purge us in the fire of your judgment, O God,
Turn us, shape us, fill us with the power of your Spirit.
Give us another chance to redeem our lives
through the power of your steadfast love.
O God,
you are our rock and our fortress
our strong refuge in time of trouble
Your anger is but for a moment, your favor for a lifetime.
Bind together the children of Abraham
- Jews, Muslims and Christians -
And give us your shalom, your salaam, your peace.
Blessed be your name, O God, for you have wondrously shown us your steadfast love.
Into your hands we commit our spirits; into your hands we place our trust.
Amen
(written by the Rev. Paul A. Wee, Alexandria, Va., for use in the ELCA)
