Gentle My Desperation

"Come, Lord Jesus,
touch me
with love, life-giving as light,
to quiet my anger a little & gentle my desperation
to soften my fears some & soothe the knots of my cynicism,
to wipe away the tears from my eyes & ease the pains in my body & soul,
to reconcile me to myself & then to the people around me & then nation to nation,
that none shall learn war any more,
but turn to feed the hungry, house the homeless & care compassionately for the least of our brothers & sisters.
Reshape me in your wholeness to be a healing person, Lord.

Come, Lord Jesus,
expand me
by your power, life-generating as the sea,
to accept & use my power,
to do something I believe in & be something more of who I am to be & can be,
to inspire me to dream & move,
sweat & sing,
fail & laugh,
cuss & create,
to link my passion with courage,
my hope with discipline,
my love with persistence,
to enable me to learn from difficulties,
grow in adversities,
gain wisdom from defeats,
perspective from disappointments,
gracefulness from crises,
& find joy in simply living it all fully.
Release me through your power to be a powerful person, Lord.

Come, Lord Jesus,
startle me
with your presence, life-sustaining as air,
to open my heart to praise you,
to open my mind to attend you,
to open my spirit to worship you,
to open me to live my life as authentically & boldly as you lived yours.

Come, Lord Jesus,
be with me in my longing;
come, stay with me in my needing;
come, go with me in my doing;
come, struggle with me in my searching;
come, rejoice with me in my loving."

Ted Loder in Guerrillas of Grace