Saturday Prayer: The Struggle is Real

Dear God,

This work you call us to is hard:
this work of prayer and study and preaching;
this work of organizing and coordinating and administrating;
this work of phone calls and emails and Facebook posts.

I struggle to maintain compassion and grace with those closest to me who aren’t doing all I’d like them to do—or who are doing it wrong (according to me).

I struggle to maintain anger at the injustices of the world and grief for the pain of other people, because there is so much injustice, so much pain, and so little I can do.

Being a pastor is hard–
both the work of it
and the being of it.

Plus, I don’t get Saturday off—at least not this week.

So God, forgive my grumpiness (and my procrastination).
Heal my complacency.
Soothe my irritation.

Restore to me the joy of my salvation
—restore to me the joy of my call–
and grant a willing spirit to sustain me.

Amen.

Rev.  Joanna Harader serves as pastor of Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, KS. Her blog is at SpaciousFaith.com. 

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