Editor’s Note: This prayer was originally shared on March 18th, during a virtual night of prayer and lament for the victims of the Atlanta shootings, and is based loosely on Psalm 88.
Gracious God,
We are gathered here to mourn with one another, to grieve with one another,
in your presence.
Many of us have been troubled for a while now,
Seeing faces, Asian, that look exactly like ours,
Losing their personhood and becoming just another number, another footnote,
To quantify racially motivated hate.
For so long, we have tried to “keep it together,”
For our elders whom we respect and love,
For our youth whom we cherish and desire to protect,
And for our peers – whom we need now more than ever.
Yet we know that we just don’t have the strength.
We feel “unseen,” “forgotten,” and even “cut off” from you.
We wonder where you are, as we sit in silence
Overwhelmed by the crushing reality of sin, and of death.
We mourn with the families who must forever live
With the sight of an empty chair.
We mourn with the local communities in Atlanta
Who are both more angry, and more fearful.
We mourn with the many young people here
Who feel helpless and maybe distant from you.
So we, O Lord, cry out to You.
You know exactly how each of us is suffering uniquely.
Be near to us, as we lean on the intercession of your Holy Spirit,
Who takes our tears, weeping, and pain we can’t articulate,
And turns it into prayer to You.
Comfort us, especially our sisters,
With the sight of our Savior, Jesus Christ, dying unjustly on the cross,
So that we could receive the gift of salvation,
And freely live as your beloved children.
It is in Jesus’ name that we pray, Amen.