Prayer of lament for 13 hours in August

We are heartbroken this morning Father, by the reality of two more mass shootings in our country in the span of a single day. Or perhaps, Father, we find ourselves feeling numb towards so much loss and death. Either way, we confess we need a course correction back towards you. Help us find the courage and wisdom to first surrender, and then join with You in the work you are doing to restore your world and draw us all closer to reconciliation and peace. 

We ask, Father, that you might be near to the hurting. We know you are so close to the families and loved ones who lost someone in Texas and Ohio yesterday, open their eyes to your presence in their pain. Be near to all those who sit beside hospital beds or graveside, those who find their home on street corners, those who no longer know how to trust your church or our nation. Remind them that you alone are unchanging, that you alone can save.

Forgive us for the ways we have prioritized our own comfort over sacrificial love and giving. Over standing up against the hatred that fosters acts of unspeakable evil. Forgive us for shrugging and turning our head in the face of too much pain. Give us the courage as a community to enter into pain with people, even though it is not easy. Use us in our very weakness to bring your glory and grace to all corners of the world. Show us ways this week, Father, that we can start with ourselves, with our families, with our neighbors. We love you Jesus. Amen. 

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

-- Psalm 103:9-12