Dear Lord, I bring before you all the
people who experience failure in their search for a creative, affectionate
relationship. Many single people feel
lonely and unable to sustain a friendship for a long period of time; many
married people feel frustrated in their marriage and separate to go different
ways; many children cannot speak to their parents; and many parents have become
afraid of their children. All around me
I see the hunger for love and the inability to experience it in a deep and lasting
way.
Lord, look with favor on us, your people,
and impart your love to us – not as an idea or concept, but as a lived
experience. We can only love each other
because you have loved us first. Let us
know that first love so that we can see all human love as a reflection of a
greater love, a love without conditions and limitations.
Heal those who feel hurt in the most
intimate self, who feel rejected, misunderstood, or even misused. Show them your healing love and help them on
the way to forgiveness and reconciliation.
Amen.
--Henri Nouwen, A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee
