My Prayer for Immigrant Day 2011

Last updated on: April 24, 2018 at 12:55 pm by Bethany Anderson

My Prayer for Immigrant Day 2011 2018-04-24T12:55:59-07:00 Bethany Anderson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It was such an honor to be able to lead my fellow Evangelicals in a prayer during the Inter Faith Prayer Service at Immigrant Day 2011. Here is what I shared.

It’s an honor and a pleasure to be here with you all today representing the Evangelical community. We are all here because we have a burden. We have a burden for justice either in our own life or the lives of our friends and families. Today, I am burdened by the hardships my undocumented neighbors face everyday. I am burdened by my young friend whose dad was deported less than two weeks ago and whose family lives in fear that their mom and two oldest sisters will be deported as well. I am burdened for the young man from my neighborhood who is struggling through college with the hope that by the time he graduates, things will be different. I am burdened by the dad in my neighborhood who dreads even leaving our street for fear of being stopped at the checkpoints that are frequently set up around us. But perhaps the heaviest burden I carry today is for my Christian brothers and sisters. I fear that the Church might be missing an opportunity to be what Jesus has called us to be. I fear that instead of loving our enemies, caring for the orphans, and welcoming the strangers we are busy building walls, both figuratively and literally. I am afraid that too many of my brothers and sisters make judgments about Immigrants out of fear and ignorance and they are missing an opportunity to be more like Christ by loving their neighbors as themselves. My prayer is not only that freedom and justice will spring forth for my friends and neighbors, but my prayer is also that the Church will be the revolutionary agent of love and peace it was created to be. Will you pray with me as we lift these burdens to our Lord and Savior?

God, we know that you are a God of justice. We know that you love and care so deeply for the immigrants in our community. We know that you know exactly what it feels like to be a stranger in the land and we know that your heart breaks every time a worker is taken advantage of, a family is separated, or the dream of a student is diminished by our broken system. But we also know that you have created an institution that is the answer to all of our societal problems. You created the Church to be your physical representation on earth. Lord we pray for the countless individuals and families who struggle daily to live a life of dignity in a society that tells them they are less than. We pray for your presence to be felt in the homes of each of our immigrant brothers and sisters and Lord we pray for comprehensive reform that reflects the values of your Word. But Lord we also pray for your church, for our church. We pray that you will help us to see our undocumented neighbors as you do, as your beloved creation deserving of freedom and opportunity to live life to their full potential. We pray that you will help us to boldly stand and proclaim that you love the Immigrant and because of your deep love for them, we will love them as well. Help us to turn our pity into compassion and our charity into action. Help us to fight for your justice with unconditional grace and love. Lord, help us to be the Church you intended us to be and help us to love like you created us to Love. Lord, help us to me more like you. Thank you for this opportunity to grow in our relationships with you as we engage the hurting and broken world around us. May your name be glorified through our actions today and may the freedom you talk about in your scriptures be wholly felt by all of us here and those whose stories weigh heavy on our hearts. We love you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 1, 2011

Jesus loved Osama Bin Laden...and he loves undocumented Immigrants too.

Next Post

May 25, 2011 Immigrant Day 2011

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Children and Immigration Church Current Events DREAM Act Garnet Immigrant Families Inspiration Our Children Uncategorized What does the Bible say about Immigration

Select a Month January 2019 December 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 December 2013 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 March 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 December 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many people did Jesus feed with five loaves and two fish?

Select your answer to see how you score.

About 7000 About 100 About 5000 men About 12