Creator God, Giver of Life,
You make the world around us and delight in it—the light, the waters, the soil and all that grows within it, the skies and all their wonders, the fishes of the sea, the animals of the earth, and humankind—and you see that is very good.
God, we ask to see like you. Give us the vision to see the earth as good. to see our fellow humankind as good, maybe with your abundance of grace we can see our neighbors as very good. This vision, this way of seeing—is not so distant as it may seem, yet us humankind do so much to cloud our vision. The way we are driven by envy or outrage—to the point where relationships are severed. The way our language often falls short of speaking of one another as image-bearers of God, and thus our actions fall short of treating one another as image-bearers of God. The way we are so quick speak, so quick to get angry, and so slow to listen—that we fail to hear the good news proclaimed all around us.
But just as creation began with a breath, so can new life. Creator God, Giver of Life, breathe into us. Still our hearts. Still our minds. Open our eyes to your goodness around us—and help us seek the flourishing of all life on this good earth.
God we pray for the flourishing of the people in this city. We pray for compassion. We pray for wisdom to face the ills that separate us, the things that break our homes apart. And there are cracks in the collective house that need repair: our public schools, our housing crisis, our mental health crisis. God give us the hope and that is needed to repair this home — that we may look around and see that it is good.
God we pray for the flourishing of the people returning to broken land in Gaza. We pray for lasting peace. We pray for an end to bloodshed. We pray for renewed imagination to reject the way of Cain that leads to death and accept the way of Christ that leads to life —praying now the life-affirming prayer Jesus taught his disciples, saying:
Our Father, who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation , but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. amen.