Prayer for Galileo

Rebecca Lay is a co-conspirator with Galileo Church, and our resident mystic. After a recent worship service about our collective discernment, in a season of reading Jesus’s farewell discourse in John’s gospel, Rebecca wrote this prayer for our congregation.

Our God who is in heaven. Jesus, you said this, so you called our God your God. Jesus, please help us to know that you are one of us; that you understand us and can relate to our hurts, our desires, and our joys.

God who is in heaven. May we know you as Father, as Abba, as Daddy who rejoices over us. May we know you as Mother who comforts us and quiets us with your love. May we know you as our spouse, as our lover who sings songs of love over us.

Hallowed be your name. You are worthy to be glorified, honored, respected. May we grow to treat you as such. May we also grow to worship and adore you. May we grow to fall in love with you since you are in love with us.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. O God, would you rule and reign come into our lives? There is no rebellion in your kingdom in heaven. We pray that we would not rebel against you but respect and honor you. May we strive to be like you.

We pray that you would rule and reign in every area of our lives: in our physical bodies; in our emotional, mental, and psychological being; in all of our relationships; in our jobs, our homes, our families; and finally in our sense of self and who we are. We pray that your reign would come into our hurts and wounds to heal. Would you grant to us the grace to forgive all of those who have hurt us and even come to the place of praying for them and blessing them.

We pray that you would provide for us daily -- You who have caused this little planet to be so filled with an abundance of resources, You who have created more than one kind of fruit, one kind of vegetable, one kind of protein -- would you please provide for us out of your great abundance?

We pray that You, our God, would also be our shepherd to lead and guide us out of troubles. Lead us to green pastures and still waters. Provide for us times of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual refreshing. Restore our souls. Heal our wounds and scars and make our souls new again.

We pray that You would lead us into paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Cause us to grow to become loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, merciful, compassionate, patient, generous people, like you were and are, Jesus.

We pray, our shepherd, that when life does take us through difficulties, please guide us and protect us even in the darkest places of life. Even there may we know your presence and your comfort.

We pray, our shepherd, as we come out of difficult times, that you would lead us to a place of rejoicing, a table of feasting. And in this place of rejoicing may we have a greater anointing of the Spirit of God – the same Spirit that was upon you as would walked this little planet.

We pray, our shepherd, that our lives would be filled with a knowledge of how good and merciful you are. May those around us see your goodness and mercy as we grow to be good to others and merciful to others.

Finally, our shepherd, we pray that we would know an intimacy with your all the days of our lives. Amen, amen.