7 Prayers That Work

Lord Jesus, Bring relief to the marginalized people in this country. Comfort the grieving families of this recent attack in Georgia. Bring awareness, empathy, and compassion to all of us-- but particularly your children-- so that we reach out to those who wander, suffer with those who hurt,  and offer belonging to everyone. I pray your special blessing on Asian-Americans, on immigrant children separated from their parents, on single parent-families living in poverty, on inner-city kids without the resources to reach their dreams. Fill each with the assurance of your love and a desire to know you. Comfort and protect them. And God, change us into your image before them! Stir our hearts to break down stereotypes, partisanship, and elitism and embrace the diverse world you created. You love us all. You offer salvation freely to everyone. You call us to reach the world. Now convict us to reach the world you've brought to us, to think of safety for all instead of safety for ourselves. H...

Dear Lord Jesus, You are always and exclusively a God of Life! You give life to us each day and you even gave your own life so we could live eternally the way you meant for us to live. You are too great to fathom! Give us sight to see life as you see it: to see the unborn in the womb, perfectly designed by you, to see the immigrant struggling to safeguard her family, to see a prisoner , desperate for a second chance at life, to see the abused who believes her life is meaningless, to see an addict who's given up on living, to see the elderly, longing for better days or more days,  to see the marginalized , devastated by history, to see the poor , without hope or means to sustain existence, to see those enslaved to pimps, drug lords, owners, abusers,  and yes-- to see those who believe they're free and yet are shackled by their own passions, pursuits, arrogance, and ambitions. Help us see everyone you lived and died for the way you see them. Life is a gift-- it's your gif...

Dear Father of the fatherless, I pray your compassion and mercy over the world's immigrants and refugees . May I always welcome the lost and weary in Jesus' name. Give me courage to defend the fatherless, to assist the widow, to welcome the stranger, to offering healing to the sick, to rescue the oppressed. May we never see nationality, creed, or culture because You don't see them. You see people-- hungry, afraid, terrorized, hurting, displaced, marginalized, misunderstood, resourceless. These are problems created by humans against humans. And these problems interfere with seeing You. Convict me when that's all I see. Use me to show Jesus' love through what I do and what I say. Keep me from political agendas instead of prayerful purpose. If I truly want to be like You, this is how I will behave and what I will believe. "Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor."-- Ezekiel 22:7 "And what does the L...