Gun Violence Prayers 2 / Merciful Lord

Gun Violence Prayers 2

Merciful Lord,

we come to you heavy hearted,

for we have heard the cries of
the slain calling to us from the ground.

We come remembering
all the lives lost to the weapons of war
that have flooded our communities.

We come reminded
of the many bodies locked in jails and
prisons all across this country.

And we ask for your mercy.

Although we find ourselves
in a broken world –a world in which

hurting people hurt other people,

it is no mystery that

you are a God capable
of healing our world

through justice and fairness.

Your own revelation has shown us that

you stand firmly with those people

whose backs are against the wall.

Your own life demonstrates

how you came from heaven to earth

to redeem creation,

our communities and our own lives.
So we ask for this same redemptive power
to be unleashed among us as it was
on the day of Pentecost.

May we be empowered by your Spirit

to reverse the conditions that

produce young men and women
who are driven to resort to violence

and destructive behavior in their fight
to stay alive and struggle to remain free.

We know that

you have no pleasure

in the death of anyone,

so we boldly come

to the throne of grace

today dear Lord,

seeking your wisdom
as we create strategies that provide
pathways and lifelines to hope and healing.

Help us to remember

we are all your children,

created in your image,
and we are connected by a single garment
of mutuality and destiny.

Cause us to never forget how our needs are
the same and our calling to address
these needs are the same.

Reveal to us Lord,

that the pain felt in Newtown is
the same pain felt in Chicago.

The tears shed in Oak Creek are
the same tears shed in Oakland.

The lives lost in Tucson are
the same lives lost in Camden.

The children being buried in Aurora are
the same children being buried in Detroit.

We cry out to you,

heal our souls from
this scourge of violence.

Endow us

with the courage

to step down from the pulpits

and out from behind our desks

to seek the peace of the city.

In the coming days and weeks
as our leaders debate solutions,

Lord we ask that

you grant us the voice

to speak truth power

and demonstrate
sacrificial compassion to
the hurting.

Teach us your ways, O God.

Bless us with the wisdom

and strength to put down

our swords and be peacemakers.

Use us,

work through us

and,
if necessary,

work in spite of us to mend

our nation’s brokenness.

We thank you for

your protecting embrace

and unfailing love.

All of these requests we bring to you,

in the name of Jesus the Christ we pray.

Amen.

-People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO)-

Thanks for The Prayer 
in the Face of Gun Violence
‪http://www.loaloachristiannetwork.com/‬
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