You Have Not Moved On Without Us

We have grieved individually and corporately, 

but we’re not finished yet.

We have ceremonially gathered in remembrance,

but there is still more remembering to do.

We have returned to our schedules,

but we’re not fully engaged.

Our tears still fall, 

but we feel pressure to withhold them. 

We still want to reminisce, 

but feel that it is no longer heard, nor understood.

Our wounds and scars have produced lingering affects, 

and we feel responsible.

Teach us, Father, that none of this comes from you. 

Teach us that your willingness to listen,

                      your presence as we grieve,

                      your suffering alongside of us,

                      your intercession on our behalf,

                      your words of comfort to us,

are no less now than they were when tragedy first struck. 

You are not waiting for the grieving to be finished.

May we draw close to you as many times as we need to.

Strengthen our confidence that you still care.

Strengthen our confidence that you have not moved on without us.

Teach us to love and to weep with those who do.

Teach us to do this on the terms of the griever. 

We need your grace for ourselves and for each other,

and so we praise you that there is an abundant supply. 

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Our groaning with the rest of creation is great.

May You Be Glorified by This, Our Testimony

We expect to suffer in life.
We even expect to experience loss.
       But not of the youngest child
              not of a son
              not of a college freshman.
Be our help, oh God, in dealing with this tragedy so unexpected.
Be present in our times of shock.
Be present in our times of confusion.
Be present in our times of deepest mourning.
Be present as we learn to worship in our sorrow's midst.
Be present as we learn to grieve corporately as brothers and sisters.
Be present as we learn to embody the love and comfort of Jesus Christ.

We praise you that this presence has been felt.
            it has sustained us,
            it has blessed us,
            it has given us joy despite all odds,
            it has granted us peace beyond all understanding.
For the blessedness that is our communion together in Jesus Christ, we praise you.

You are exactly who you claim to be.
We know that now more than ever.
May you be glorified by this, our testimony.
For your name's sake use it,
and we will praise you yet again.

At the name of Jesus we bow, and ask these things.

Amen.

Just as in Ages Past

"God of our mothers and fathers long gone and treasured,
God of our grandchildren yet to be and awaited,
God of our years, our days, and even this moment:
Our lives are deeply rooted in miracles before us,
Our faith is richly set in courage running thick,
Our vocation is shaped by all those
who have risked for your purposes.
And now, in our remembering, we are made mindful
of our own place of call, and
our own time of obedience.
We pray for ourselves and for your whole church,
     courage beyond our easier timidity,
     vision beyond our present tense,
     restlessness beyond our steady settlements, 

     and yielding beyond our will to manage.
Give us appropriate yielding that we may 

be like our remembered ones in freedom and in love for you. 

We pray in the name of Jesus,

whom we remember until he comes again. Amen."
"Give us Appropriate Yielding"- A prayer of Walter Brueggemann from "Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth"

In a time such as this, teach us to risk that which you are calling us to risk. Teach this generation how to be courageous in the name of Jesus, and for the sake of the gospel. May you be glorified, even in the messes we make. We thank you that your sovereign hand guides us faithfully, just as in ages past. 

Come soon, Lord Jesus.
But until then, we ask these things
in his matchless and trustworthy name, 

Amen.

In Times of Exposure

We are a broken people- more broken than we thought before.
So where do we go from here?
How do we trust? In whom is this trust to be placed?

Afraid and confused about the process of healing,
teach us Lord to put one foot in front of another-
To walk obediently in the light, even if its cost is great.
Teach us that your grace extends to us,
and that you understand that we are but finite creatures.
Teach us therefore to grieve sin deeply,
yet not to lose sight of the light ever present at the journey's end.

Remind us that our intercessor is the Suffering Servant himself.
Teach us to be more like him,
to grieve like him.

Jesus, be our rock, and healing in times of exposure.

We are looking to you 
out of recognition that we have no other choice. 

We Will Never Fathom

Oh Righteous Father,

Teach us to be humble- to allow your Spirit to do the convicting and convincing. 

Teach us to be bold- to speak the truth that your Spirit presses upon us.  

In the midst of controversy and disagreement, teach us to see others as better than ourselves, yet not to lose the fervor in our declaration of truth. 

We admit that even in our quest to glorify your name,
 our actions are tainted with pride. 

We have hidden agendas, 
and we confess that our theological musings are at times mere bigotry. 

Father, thank you for your supremacy, your holiness, your grace.

Jesus, thank you for your humility, your intercession, your sacrifice.

Spirit, thank you for your presence, your ministry, your sufficiency. 

We cannot bow low enough. 

May we set aside these agendas of our own, trusting you to accomplish what you can and will. Teach us of our insecurity, yet of your absolute security in what is to come. 

You will vindicate your name. 
Until then, teach us to speak of it with meekness, trembling, and awe. 

Why you entrust it to us, your children, we will never fathom. 

We ask these things with gratitude for your mercy made new at the dawn, Amen.

Wounds and All

The verbal abuse of one sister to another,
A daughter's fear of her father's terrorizing presence,
The betrayal of a friend by another,
The severing of close relationship for unprofessed reasons.

This day has brought more grief than we know how to bear. We don't know what words to say or what comforts to offer, because we just can't make sense of it all.

Thank you Father that the cross teaches us of your willingness to inflict pain upon your very own Son. When the pain is great, teach us to cry out honestly with him that it feels as though we have been forsaken. Yet, draw us ever closer to the hope that he had in communion with you that not even death could sever. We are a broken people. Thus far we have only trusted you as far as our reason can go. Bring us through cycles of lament and rejoicing, and teach us all the while to entrust ourselves, wounds and all, to your healing touch. 

Teach us to Worship in Anticipation

We are so consumed with our own instant gratification and pleasure that your presence rarely amazes us anymore. In this entertainment-crazed culture, teach us to work hard to be still before you. May your presence astound us, and may we learn what it means to be at rest in the name of Jesus. May our souls remember that the winds and the waves still know your voice as they did when you ruled them here below. 

One day all will be silenced before you.

Teach us to worship in anticipation of that day.