A
PRAYER FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Psalm
5
1
Listen to my words, Lord,
consider
my lament.
2
Hear my cry for help,
my
King and my God,
for
to you I pray.
3
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in
the morning I lay my requests before you
and
wait expectantly.
4
For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with
you, evil people are not welcome.
5
The arrogant cannot stand
in
your presence.
You
hate all who do wrong;
6
you destroy those who tell lies.
The
bloodthirsty and deceitful
you,
Lord, detest.
7
But I, by your great love,
can
come into your house;
in
reverence I bow down
toward
your holy temple.
8
Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
because
of my enemies—
make
your way straight before me.
Hear
us, O God
for we
are surrounded by enemies
They
are all around us
hemming
us in
threatening
our happiness
grabbing
at what we have
wanting
our good and rewarding life
They
are all around us
wanting
to do us harm
hurt
us
leave
us wounded
unable
to walk or run or move
Hear
us, O God
for we
are surrounded by enemies
They
are all around us
we
cannot escape them
we
cannot flee them
they
follow and stalk us
wherever
we go
They
are all around us
we
cannot hide from them
we
cannot protect ourselves from them
no
fort is strong enough
no
bunker deep enough
Hear
us, O God
for we
are surrounded by enemies
They
are all around us
because
we are our own enemies
Our
arrogance presumes we can do anything
build
create
conquer
defend
All we
have
Yet
our arrogance leads only
to our
self destruction
Builds
us up
for a
great fall
and we
lose all we have
They
are all around us
because
we are our own enemies
We do
wrong
and
call it right
We
bomb to keep evil away
We
cheat to keep poverty away
We
abuse to satisfy our needs
Yet
our wrong
turns
back upon ourselves
Our
bombs hurts us
Our
cheating robs us
Our
abuse scars us
Forgive
us, O God
and
lead us in the paths of righteousness
Teach
us the humility of the One
who
bore the cross in humble obedience
Show
us how to follow your teachings
and
love and cherish and forgive each other
Give
us the strength to choose right over wrong
and
learn the ways of peace and justice
May we
cease being our worst enemy
May we
love ourselves
and
love each other
as
you, O God, love us
Amen
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