Prayer for Today (Letting go of self to gain self)

God in and around and among your Creation,

we pray in silence and song;

we pray with thoughts and emptiness;

we pray…

         Because there is much we feel helpless about,

and our prayers change us—perhaps minutely—

to be more aware, or more purposeful, or even relieved

that you are a part of each concern: present.

Our concerns this morning are as close as our own skins:

physical and mental and spiritual needs for healing, wholeness.

And our concerns stretch our imaginations

to know how to pray beyond our selves

         for students who study in fear in their classrooms,

         and those recovering from trauma

suffered in supposedly safe spaces;

                  for the families of ICE raids in Cheyenne,

one of whom was led to hopelessness and

took her own and her daughter’s lives;

         for the ongoing Middle East conflicts,

         which are less “exciting” today than when they began,

         but which continue nonetheless;

                  for lives and livelihoods lost

                  in this week’s tornadoes.

God in and around and among your Creation,

pray in us with guidance to continue

caring and changing and seeking new ways to be your people

for the wholeness of all.