Prayer for Refugees

Loving God, you invite us to humble service.  But we confess that too often our service is not for your Kingdom, but for the kingdoms of this world.  We don’t put you first; we don’t strive for your justice.

Help us Lord, and heal us.

Show us what it means to be a follower of you in the United States of America in 2017.  Give us a vision on what you desire of our lives.

We have to be honest Lord; we are struggling --- struggling with the siren call of our society.  A call to protect, isolate, separate and judge one another and to build kingdoms of this world and too often the noise drowns out the the call of your kingdom.

We hear you asking us: have we fed the hungry, have we clothed the naked, have we visited the imprisoned, have we cared for the widow and the refugee.

Lord, we know what you require of us --- and we have fallen short.

We know that you were a refugee once --- that you were forced to flee from Bethlehem and resettle in Egypt.  We are reminded time and time again that you had nowhere to lay your head.

As followers of Jesus, we are to be a people who seek justice, not only for us and those like us, but for all of God’s children.  Without justice, the message of Jesus is hollow and self serving.

Help us Lord, to examine our own lives --- to admit where we have fallen short.  And to seek forgiveness.

Help us to recognize who we are --- but more importantly WHO’s we are.

Only when we let the spirit rain free in our lives, can we become the individuals, and the community you desire us to be.

Help us to claim the power of Jesus.

Help us to claim his ability to heal --- and to forgive.

And help us Lord, to continue to follow that little child, that vulnerable infant, that had no safe place to lay his head.

If refugees, like you, can’t find a safe home in the church --- what have we become?

We pray these things in the name of Jesus.  Amen