Prayer of Hope:

God of Compassion,
Sometimes life is really hard on us. Help me to remember that you are with me in difficult times, and that you are working with me to heal my pain and brokenness. Give me patience in the present, and hope for the future, for you are the creator of life, and the source of all hope. Amen

Reading: An Iroquois Prayer

We wait in the darkness!
Come, all ye who listen,
Help in our night journey:
Now no sun is shining;
Now no start is glowing;
Come show us the pathway;
The night is not friendly;
The moon has forgotten us,
We wait in the darkness!

Meditation:

Sometimes it feels like we’re “waiting in the darkness,” doesn’t it? When we’re having trouble in our lives—problems with relationships, physical difficulties, job stress, and other things which weigh us down—it can feel like we’ll never emerge. This prayer emphasizes that sense of darkness which can feel endless, into which no light seems to break. “The moon has forgotten us,” the people declare.

Underneath the prayer, though, is a sense of great hope. We know that even though the night can seem very dark, the moon has not forgotten us. The light will reappear in the morning. The moonlight will return on the next night, or the night after that.

We are not alone in our darkness, either. Even when we cannot see others, in that “dark night of our soul,” they are there with us. Even when we lose hope and faith, God is with us. God never loses us.

--Who walks with you when you wait in the darkness?

--How can you reach out to God in hope, when you feel lost in darkness?

Prayer for Healing:

God of Light,
Stir me to hope and healing. Comfort me, for I feel pain, and sometimes the pain is overwhelming. Come to me even when I do not turn to you, and I will return. I will seek you in the darkness, while I wait. Amen