I transcribed the following from a Highway Video....it's a prayer by Animah Al-Attas, and I really liked it.
LEADER:
God
gracious, tender, merciful
delivering our eyes from tears
our feet from stumbling
loosing our bonds
protecting us with your strength
as you engage us
you do so bountifully
Us
simple
our own souls hiding from us
children of your servant girl
skin waiting for hope
hulled up behind doors
desperate for you to breathe on us
longing for you to re-spirit us
Forgive us
when we make vows to you in secret
and then work to forget them
while we impress the crowd
PEOPLE:
Let our yes be yes, our no be no
LEADER:
When we are disingenuine in our faith
loyal when it's convenient
PEOPLE:
We are sorry and we humbly repent
LEADER:
When we avoid slowing down
PEOPLE:
Hedge us in and still our souls
LEADER:
When we ignore your voice
inviting us to be foolish
PEOPLE:
Release our grip on the need to fit in
give us guts to follow you
LEADER:
Release also the grip of our eyes
fixed on the mirror
so in love with hating ourselves that we
cannot see beyond our foibles.
We choose to let you love us
turning from the glass
to face brothers and sisters in need
PEOPLE:
Hear our prayer.
LEADER:
We pray for those who would
rather take their own lives than
persist in the land of the living
crouch down and cup your ear to
their whispers
PEOPLE:
Hear our prayer
LEADER:
We pray for the third of our world ravaged
by war
how do we pray for a number like this?
blood
broken life
divorced conscience
darkened souls
dead hope
Holy spirit, in your wisdom
PEOPLE:
Teach us how to pray and move us to
respond
LEADER:
For those disillusioned with the rest of humanity
tired of loving the seemingly unolvable
teach us to lift the cup of salvation
to those we fail to understand
May we be generous with patience and love
in your patience
PEOPLE:
Hear our prayer
LEADER:
Jesus
standing outside of time
yet all the while invading it
in the psalms of David
in the cries of Isaiah
on the streets of Jerusalem
exploding history to tell us you love us
teaching us to love others
Us
trapped in analysis
we push thumbs into your bloody
hands
we stretch out our fists inside the
wounds of your side
we see you moving
and believe
Spirit come
dress our souls
bathe our hearts
lift our eyes
with your breath
