To the God Who Hears Our Cries

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
     Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy...

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

(Psalm 130:1-2, 5-6)

Surely you hear the cries of your people, O Lord.

Surely you hear the cries of

  anguish,

    despair,

      longing,

        confusion,

          fear.

Surely you hear the cries of

  the unemployed,

    the lonely,

      the sick,

        the poor in our communities,

          the business owners.

Surely you hear the cries of

  overwhelmed leaders,

    exhausted medical personnel,

      school children and their teachers and administrators,

        frustrated shoppers among empty shelves,

          families forced into separation and isolation.

Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord;

    Lord, hear our voice.

Let your ears be attentive

     to our cries for mercy.

We wait for you to answer us.

We wait for you to

  heal us,

  restore us,

  comfort us,

  strengthen us,

  fill us with your presence.

We wait, O God,

anticipating your goodness and mercy.

Because that’s who you are:

Gracious and compassionate, 

abounding in steadfast love.

We wait, as intently as the night-watch 

waits for the morning

with deep longing,

awaiting the first signs of dawn,

and the new day.

Out of the depths we cry out to you, O Lord.

Dispel the darkness, we pray.

Shine your light,

and bring us to a new day.

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David," using prayers found in the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.