The following prayer for a service on Amos 9 was written for Wine Before Breakfast in the fall. Along with allusions to Amos 9, it also contains allusions to Amos 7 and 8, as well as Psalm 139.
Gracious God,
You who control hurricanes and earthquakes, ,
Have power over the wind and the storm.
Where can we go from your presence?
‘Though we hide from your sight
at the bottom of the sea,
You will search us out.’
‘The wings of the morning
and the farthest limits of the sea’
Even there we cannot flee
from Your presence. Such power is too wonderful for me.
How do we reconcile that no one
can hide from you?
None can hide
from the fierce love of a mother,
From the power that can leave a trail
like that of the wake of a hurricane.
Too often our images of You are incomplete:
We picture a loving friend-God
Who seems unaware of injustice,
Or an angry king-God,
Who seems bent on judgement.
How do we see the fullness of who You are?
How do we be honest about Your anger
and passion for justice,
while still resting in your grace?
We thus pray for the church
and how we proclaim who You are,
We lament especially how people have been harmed
when your image has been distorted
by proclaiming only one side of who you are.
[Silent, spoken, and written prayers for the church and for those you have been hurt by distorted images of God.]
All-powerful God,
‘You who build your upper chambers in the heavens,
and found your vault upon the earth;
You who call for the waters of the sea,
and pour them out upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord Almighty is your name.’
You punish those who turn their backs on justice,
who reject their identities as divine image-bearers;
You call for justice to flow down like waters.
So why then does injustice seem to thrive?
The poor are still bought for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
So many goods are produced by those not earning a living wage.
The land is exploited,
a continuation of treaties that took advantage of others.
We lament the injustice in the world
and the suffering of those around us.
[Silent, spoken, and written prayers of lament for the suffering and injustices in the world].
God of all justice,
Protect us from your anger.
Fix your eyes on us for good
and not for harm.
We confess for how
we’ve participated in the wrong around us.
We’ve had a part in the fires raging in the world.
We have made it hard for others to breathe.
Distracted by social media and the news,
caught up in our work and worries.
Attracted to images of strength
instead of humility and truth.
We suffer a famine of ‘hearing the words of the LORD.’
[Silent, spoken, and written prayers of confession]
God of all hope,
May we see that you relent
not because of who we are
– and whether we are good enough -
But because of who you are.
Give us eyes to imagine a different story.
To see how your might
shapes a new world.
May we see how you care for all people.
That we, who are not the chosen people,
who were not the first people -
But instead are the Ethiopians,
the settlers and colonizers -
That you would care as much for us
as for any other.
Recognizing the great gift of being included,
We lament all those who continue to be marginalized
and also give thanks for how you have included all of us.
[Silent, spoken, and written words of thanksgiving] Gracious God,
Even as we long to hear
and speak words for restoration,
may we never stop mourning the suffering of the world.
May your presence inspire comfort and not fear.
May we look for how You are working in the world.
May we see justice rolling down like rivers.
Amen.
