March 29, 2021 | Prayer by Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, NCNW National Chaplain and President of Skinner Leadership Institute
Holy and righteous God of all possibilities and power, I lift up and praise your powerful name. Your word says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Yet, the human condition today increasingly discourages and dampens my spirit.
I grieve over 30 million COVID cases and more than 55,000 deaths.
I am disheartened over the virus of deepening hate for people of color.
I lament children in rural and urban impoverished conditions educationally setback by inadequate or nonexistent virtual learning during COVID.
I cry for Asian Americans experiencing the same racial violence that African Americans, Latinos, and Indigenous people have endured for centuries.
I am dismayed over growing numbers of professing Christian leaders supporting 21st Century laws denying Black and Latino citizens the sacred vote.
I sorrow over helpless children at our borders fleeing dangerous situations.
O God, when human cruelty and inhumanity seem without limits, I am moved to remember this truth. Because of your great love and never-failing compassion, we are not consumed. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. So, I know, Lord, you will never forget the needy and aid them through your people. When I feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of human suffering, guide me by your Spirit to look beyond the size of the crises to your incomparable power. Let me find hope in your word, “Not by might not by power, but my Spirit says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6). Help me, Lord, to know with absolute certainty that when I put my hope in you and act in solidarity with a community of caring believers, you will renew my strength that I might soar on wings like eagles; run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. In your mighty name, I pray. AMEN!
