Being More Loving [A Prayer]

Last updated on: May 31, 2016 at 7:23 am by Mark Sandlin

Being More Loving [A Prayer] 2016-05-31T07:23:17-05:00 Mark Sandlin

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trying to pray Good and gracious God,

We sometimes struggle
to love the way we should.

We sometimes allow
our relationships to become
distorted,
exploitative,
even destructive.

We gossip and slander,
we belittle and bully –
at times,
we even find ourselves
wanting vengeance.

Remind us that these things,
that way of being,
points to a systemic problem.

That way of being
comes into our lives
through systems of
power,
privilege,
greed,
and
other measures of
earthly success.

Help us see
through our
limited vision.

May we recognize
that our pursuit
of these earthly “successes,”
our desire to live life
how we want to,
frequently causes
others in our world
to suffer.

May we move away
from distorting and destroying
relationships
with our friends,
our family,
and our faith community.

Continue to call us
to a more loving way.

May we clothe ourselves
in compassion
and reach out to those in need
and strive to understand
their struggles and difficulties.

Continue to call us
to a more loving way.

May we move toward
nurturing and valuing
relationships
by practicing the greatest commandment:
to love God and to love others.

Continue to call us
to a more loving way.

May we hear and respond
to your call
to a more loving world
and may we be
ever more mindful
of practicing that love
with each person
we meet.

Amen.

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