O God, my God, be present in my tears.
I am poured out like water, my heart is like wax.
I pray for the place of hurt:
— the joint that shoots pain through the body
— the word that undermines trust & love
— the job loss that replaces breath with panic
— the growl of lions that is hunger in the stomachs of children
— the addiction that devours life & family
O God, my God, do not be too far away to hear.
O my help, come quickly when I groan.
I pray for the open wound:
— the memory that haunts the veteran in nightmares
— the distrust laid brick-by-brick until it is a wall
— the emotional fatigue of a chronic physical ailment
— the abyss of loneliness that swallows hope
— the fear of the injustice that gloats to repress others
Deliver my life from the encircling army.
Rescue your people just as you saved our ancestors.
Give us a story to tell the generations to come
And we will stand in awe, saying the LORD has done it.
(based on Psalm 22)