Last year I stumbled across the term “crafted prayer” in a refreshingly short and invaluable book by Graham Cooke, entitled the same. In it, Graham discusses the riches found in praying prayers that are not just found in the spur of the moment but rather prayers that are deliberately and carefully crafted before the throne of God. These are prayers that we can pray over and over again. And thus bringing a depth to our prayers that may, perhaps, be lacking otherwise.
This notion came to me as a gift. And I realised that this is something that I already do. In the times when I have prayed in our church, I have done just this. Spending a great deal of time praying over and wrestling with the words of the prayer. Until I feel they have come to a place that reflects the heart of God himself and where the words portray that which I long to say. That is not to say, of course, that such prayers are not always accompanied by a sense of lack. And that I am aware of both the imperfections and limitations of what I write. Yet they are, I hope, infused by the presence of the Spirit of God.
Since then, I have sought to craft prayers for my family, church, friends and for all those whom I feel the Spirit has laid on my heart. I am still learning to set rhythms in place in my life so that I have the time and space to regularly pray these prayers. I long to do that better and more deliberately.
In this time of global crisis in the face of coronavirus one short cry rings in my ears “O Lord, have mercy” (this is found in Psalm 123 and similar words are used by the blind man who cries out to Jesus in Luke 18:38).
So here is the prayer that I have started to pray…
O Lord, have mercy! Have mercy on our world. So, so many people are dying and I can’t help but think of all the countries, so many nations in our world, who lack the resources, medicines, doctors, hospitals and expertise that we have. Usually at times like this other nations would come to their aid. But every country in the world is living under the same sentence. Struggling to cope and often completely overwhelmed by the demands placed on their own health system. Who is left to go to their aid?
Lord, have mercy! On the poor, the vulnerable, the disadvantaged, the elderly, the frail, the sick, on those at the hands of people who do not do what is best for those for whom they have responsibility.
Lord, have mercy! On the doctors and nurses, who put their lives at risk to save others. May you protect, strengthen and sustain them. On the essential workers, the supermarket workers who are not paid for times or risks like this, who never signed up for this.
Thank you that our government has acted proactively, thank you that we have good healthcare, and social welfare, that we live in a country that seeks to care for the vulnerable and the hurting. But, so much of our world? O Lord, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy! On your people. For most of us there is so little that we can do as we seek to follow the restrictions placed upon us, to not become vectors of transmission. Show us what we can do. Teach us how to seek and serve you in times such as these. May we be people of grace and peace in the midst of suffering, fear and despair. And teach us what it is to pray.
Amen
How about you? Do you craft your prayers? Or is this something you would consider doing? What is a/the prayer you pray at this time?
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Yes, I love to pray this way too. I have “crafted prayers” (great term!) that I use regularly for myself, some that I’ve written to use in the family – like for school drop offs and for the start of Sabbath, some that I’ve submitted for use in church or that I’ve read in the context of a prayer meeting. I get what you mean, that there is much that comes from the crafting and wrestling together with the Holy Spirit to get the words on to the page, both within me and in what I hope might be the anointing of God on the prayer. I know that returning again and again to the same words might not usher everyone into the presence of God or connection with God, but for me I find that at least some of the time there is a sacredness in the repetition and the deliberate craftedness that helps me “ascend”.