Lake Orta, Italy by Matt Hardy on Unsplash
Today, O Lord, I feel the loneliness of anonymity.
No one in this city knows me and no one cares.
At least it seems that way.
So I am left to myself and my own thoughts.
My loneliness, of course, is quite comfortable.
It is not the loneliness of the truly abandoned.
But perhaps it can help me enter more fully into their feelings of abandonment.
O Lord, may my small experience of loneliness
teach me to have fellowship with all those who are marginalized.
when I eat alone,
help me to pray for those who have nothing to eat
when I walk the streets alone,
help me remember those who do not have the strength to walk
when I feel on the outside of every conversation,
help me see the nameless people to whom no one pays attention
when I speak and am ignored,
help me hear those whose voices fall on deaf ears
And whenever my circumstances are devoid of familiar voices
may I always be able to hear the voice of the true Shepherd.
Richard Foster, 1942- , Quaker theologian and author
_________________________
Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord’s followers should.
Be sure to welcome strangers into your home.
Be sure to welcome strangers into your home.
By doing this, some people have welcomed angels as guests, without even knowing it.
Remember the Lord’s people who are in jail and be concerned for them.
Remember the Lord’s people who are in jail and be concerned for them.
Don’t forget those who are suffering, but imagine that you are there with them.
prayer & verse 