Proverbs 28:9 God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to him.
So often prayer becomes a monologue a recital of our wants to God. Where as the real sense of prayer is more about listening and waiting upon God. Mother Teresa says, "God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer."
Prayer is inviting God into our circumstances, into our hopes, into our fears, into our dreams, and into our pain. Prayer is not working our way through a grocery list of requests that we desire God to perform or answer the way we expect him to. Prayer allows us to live relationally with God. Living relationally means you can learn to talk to God, listen to God, and think about God throughout your day—as you wake up in the morning, soak in the tub, drive to your next destination, sit in your favourite chair, go on a walk, compete in a volleyball tournament, or relax in a favourite place of rest.
Loving God, give us hearts that listen for your word.
Let us imitate the Good Samaritan, who does not turn away from suffering.
Help us listen.
May we listen to those who struggle daily for dignity.
Let us hear your voice in the stories of those on the margins.
Help us always see what binds us together as sisters and brothers.
Help us to heal.
May we be willing to stand in the place of others.
Let us be open to difference that we may arrive at understanding.
Help us to seek reconciliation that our world may reflect justice.
Help us respond.
May our faith move us to action in the public square.
Let us work with others of good will, finding solutions together.
Help us exercise political charity, seeking the common good and dignity for all.
Lord, give us the courage to trust in your hand guiding us.
Give us the courage to respond like the Good Samaritan, setting aside divisions to attend to the needs of the other. May we know and see your love present in our communities, made real in the ways we love one another.
Amen.
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