A November pastoral prayer

For times when we are like windswept leaves… when we drift along disconnected and hurried… lonely even when we are among many…  we pray for communion with you and with each other. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

For the people in our lives who are for us sunshine in the long shadows, we give you thanks, O Light of the world.  Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

           

For our parents, help us honor them… whether that means obeying their rules or honoring their wishes and their dignity as they grow older and our roles shift. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

For our children, help us love them well…when they need more from us than we feel we have left… when we want more from them than they seem to be able to give. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

For those who navigate hospital hallways, slews of medication, nervous visits with doctors, and hours upon hours of waiting… Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

For those who shoulder tremendous stress… missing the sunlight hours because they start and end their day at work… Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

For those who carry hidden grief that no one knows about so no one knows how to comfort them… 

the quiet grief of miscarriage and infertility…

the hidden grief of financial ruin….

the denied grief of a relationship that ended years ago…

the secret grief of problems in a marriage…

the buried grief of abuse…

the embarrassing grief of feeling too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too whatever… to be worthy of love.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

And for those in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan who deal with all the joy and pain life has to offer while also facing the realities of war on their doorsteps. Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

And for those things that are too private for us to say aloud… Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

 

May it be so.

 

 

Becca Messman is the associate pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Herndon, Virginia.  She leads “Lunch for the Soul” – a ministry with Hispanic day laborers.  Her other passions are preaching and offering pastoral prayers, leading retreats, energizing church leaders to serve the community around them, youth and young adult ministry, and cultivating the “fear and trembling” holy journey of parenting.  She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Dave, her two young children, and her dog Luna.