Prayer

Creative Spirit,

We give thanks today for your servant, Martin Luther King, Jr., and his immense sacrifice on behalf of social justice and human equality. To remember Dr. King is to remember what he stood for: the affirmation, recognition, and the unflinching defense of the human person, made in your image and thus bestowed with an inalienable dignity. However much the forces of a broken world seek to degrade and erode this dignity, we pledge to be among those who will pursue its protection with creativity and dedication. In gratitude for all those like Dr. King, who dream your dreams and pledge their lives to see them come true, even at pain of death, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Gracious God,

Our culture often invites us to adopt a narrow vision of success, driven by self-preservation, self-realization, and self-promotion. Yet these are the buzz words of a lonely existence, with no room for others, over-inflated with self-concern. Help us retain our perspective on the things that matter, that we may be people who share those same things with a world in need: peace and healing, restoration and belonging, love and cooperation. May we find our true selves in service to others, as one human family. Amen.

Prayer

Liberating God,

In the course of a day we are confronted with many events beyond our control. It’s tempting at times to feel helpless and choiceless, like victims of circumstance, pushed here and there and forced to adapt. When this kind of pessimism starts to swell in our hearts, help us to stop—right where we are—and remember the freedom within us. In freedom you made us and in freedom we live! Help us remember especially the power of attitude. And may we choose to stand up as people of hope and optimism, people who embrace the possibility of a better tomorrow while refusing to fall to despair. Amen.

Prayer

Wonderful Creator,

How sad it must make you to craft a day like today, in all its uniqueness, only for us to then drift through its hours and never notice its beauty. The wonders you’ve placed in our paths, the little invitations to be glad for this life, all the colors that blaze in our vision—we often overlook these gifts. As the routines of “adulting” make our senses grow dull, we humbly ask you to fill us with wonder again. Restore to us a joyful expectation, that we will be sure to find signs of your loving attention in the course of our days. For those who are especially downcast, we pray you will bless them with an abundance of rest, that they may open their eyes on a new world tomorrow. Amen.

Prayer

Merciful God,

We are battling more than a virus. Your children on earth are entrenched and divided, and sympathetic understanding is a limited resource. Help us believe we are better than this. Give us all the strength to shut off and stop any of the graceless chatter around us. Help us find a quiet place in our hearts, and there to heed you above all. Show us your face. Be merciful to us and heal our lands. Restore us in body and soul so that we might extend your healing touch to others in need, whomever and wherever they are. In the way your son taught us, may we love one another as neighbors and care for the wounded, including our so-called “enemies,” and be willing even to pay the price for their restoration. Amen.

Prayer

Eternal God,

We tell ourselves that life will calm down . . . tomorrow. Soon. After the next major hurdle, or the next big project, or the next bonus. After this or that, we say, then we’ll have time to slow down and revive those old habits that we know are essential for our deeper well-being. We are often stubborn, though. Intent on learning the hard way! Give us wisdom to learn from you and to adapt to your pace, rather than perpetuate our self-made frenzy. Show us that your timing is in fact perfect, and that we can rest in the way you choose to work in our lives. In the comfort of knowing you accompany us, may we quiet our spirits, relax our nerves, and learn to enjoy this present moment. Moment by moment, we pray, Amen.

Prayer

Liberating God,

Break our hearts today, for the forty-plus million trapped in slavery across the world. Break our hearts for the women and men and children being forced into sex work and labor servitude, living in conditions worse than our nightmares. Break our hearts with awareness, but do not stop there. Do not let us stop there. Beyond awareness, move us with a passion for justice and a longing to see freedom come for all. Keep us from insulating ourselves, as if contemporary slavery were something far and remote only. While we may not all be engaged in liberation, make us all more vigilant to guard our communities, watching for signs of enslavement in our daily interactions and, if necessary, to defend and protect all those in need. Amen.