Sunday Prayer: tell us stories

Crowd-gatherer,
Beach Preacher,
Storyteller,
tell us stories.
Tell us stories that challenge and reform us,
for we are in serious need of reforming.
Our hearts are far from you,
and we are failing our neighbor at every turn.
Remind us who we are, O God.
Remind us to whom we belong.
Tell us stories that
strengthen and sustain us,
for we are oh so tired.
We have lost patience with this battle,
and we have lost our resolve to care.
Grief exhausts us.
We are overwhelmed and overwrought.
Tell us stories of our ancestors in the faith
who endured greater trials
and overcame
because you went before in a cloud
and behind in a pillar of fire
just as you go with us today.
Tell us stories that free our hearts from slavery to sin,
for the good we want to do, we do not,
and the evil we do not want to do is what we do.
In fact, we find ourselves drawn to sin like a moth to fire.
We need to be reminded what it means
to love.
Lift up for us the stories of the one who loved sacrificially
to the point of death
and help us put into perspective the sacrifices we are asked to make
for the stranger in our midst.
Tell us stories that nourish us and produce in us a harvest of hope,
for we are hungry for hope in these trying times.
Help us to look for the daily manna that focuses our attention
on the blessings of the moment,
so that our joy is constantly renewed.
Shine the light of your truth into our darkness
with your stories, we pray,
and lead us into tomorrow with the reassurance that
no matter what
we belong to you.

Julie Gvillo is Commissioned Pastor (PCUSA) and Founder and Creative Executive Director of A Place of Grace. Julie shares liturgy written on RCL passages each week on her blog, Point of Contact: Where Life and Worship Intersect.

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