Be creative, O God our God,
be resourcefully inventive we pray,
for your children are wandering and weary,
without a refuge or hiding place
from their persecutors.
With a deft hand
sew a cloak of comfort
and forge an armor of protection
around those who need it most.
Be a mother bear
in strength and ferocity
and stand between those
who are fleeing, those who are
crying out to survive, and
those who cause them harm.
Do not let your children be hungry,
but find sweet honey
and wild berries
to satisfy them along their ways.
Be an early riser, O God,
awake before the dawn to
disrupt our worst nightmares —
of a world that is selfish beyond capacity,
of a people who are foolish to the point of hatred,
of a guardedness that offers no welcome.
Rouse us with the sun;
shed light on our fears
and warm grace within us.
Be prudent, O God,
in your mercy and your judgment.
Be wise in your dealings with us
as we cannot be.
Prove yourself trustworthy
as we are not.
Then we will claim your name in public spaces;
we will share your wisdom with young and old;
we will be happy forevermore to
lean on your wisdom and
dwell in your joy.
O God our God, you are more precious than jewels,
more valuable than oil, more courageous than armies.
You are virtuous like no other — this we know, this we praise. Amen.
on Psalm 31