A Petition for the Downtrodden and Worn Out

Here we find ourselves today, at an end of sorts.
Our pain is not hidden from you—
we know You see every angle of our crushed spirits.
For whatever reason, we feel drained and that we do not have enough.
Maybe it's that we have had enough and the confession of that makes us feel
unworthy of so many things.
Very real emotions of being used and misused—being stepped on by the world, and thus
without purpose.

This being ’worn out’ is the overbearing rush of wanting to throw away all that is useless.
Maybe once full of worth, but now all tapped out.

Here we are, and we are crying out for You.
Our combined cries sound like a shout of desperation.
Yes, we know that our pain is not hidden from You.

Hear our cries Oh Father God! Oh Emmanuel! Oh Spirit of Truth…

Oh God who in Great Power and Might made the whole world!
Oh God who looked to Yourself, as Father, Son, and Spirit—complete and lacking nothing.
Oh God who saw the people you created and had a plan to set them apart as holy.
Oh God who will not share His Glory with another, and yet revealed that same Glory
on your people to lead them in the wilderness.

Oh Gracious God—we, your created children, need that light today.

Oh Perfect Son of God, who set aside His Glory to come to us!
Oh Begotten Son of God, who was born in squalor and poverty.
Oh Bread of Life and Living Water, who kept back nothing of Himself—for our gain.
Oh Good Shepherd who went out searching for the one
and who did not lose any who were placed in your hands.

Oh Faithful and True—we, these disciple lambs, need your voice to guide us.

Oh Spirit of God who is all working power!
Oh Helper and Advocate, who is our voice when the evil one would make us tremble.
Oh Spirit of the Lord, in whose wake our liberty rests.
Oh Eternal One who hovers over and affirms all the will of God and who creates faith
in the hearts of all who would believe.

Oh Holy Spirit—we acknowledge we can know nothing of God without your indwelling.

Here, as our spirit sits in ash and our heart is frail and wounded—here we cry out to You.

Oh God who sees us hidden in the depths of Sheol!
Oh God who made us to endure right here in the land of the living!
Oh God of a people well acquainted with grief and burdens—
we come to you now seeing that you have all mercy in our plight.

Oh Christ who understands our limits.
Oh Christ who touched the sick and ate with sinners.
Oh Christ who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame—
we look to you seated at the Fathers right hand.

Oh Spirit who reminds us we are dust.
Oh Spirit who buries the old man.
Oh Spirit who raises us up to new life in the Son—
imparting to us what we could never afford, the righteousness of Christ.

Here, as the situation of the world we have been called out of crumbles, as we cannot see
how you will put every broken piece back in place—

we believe you will.
we believe you.
we believe your Word.

We believe you will make all things right,
and it might not be right here,
or the here and now.

But, rightness in its righteous places.

We believe you are doing a million things we cannot see
between the beats of our heart ache.
We believe you are Able to accomplish all you intend
even as we grieve and wait,
even as we feel weaker and sapped of all power—
this is when you are Most Strong.

We believe you when you say You Are the Beginning and the End—
the Starter, the Author, the Architect.
that means you have the spark, the pen, the blueprint.

We believe you and we trust you, even when we feel trampled and forgotten.

We believe you are the God Who Sees and we are never forgotten or misplaced.
Neither is our pain wasted or without purpose—
You know, and that is enough.

We believe, and help our unbelief, that here where our souls hang heavy—
that knowing you and your Goodness is more than enough to carry us,
sustain us, and cause us to flourish in places we could never imagine.

We believe Your Resurrection Power is Enough for the downtrodden and worn out hearts.

Hearts like ours.

Now unto Him—who is the Finisher of Our Faith—to Him be honor and glory and power,
the Victors Crown is yours!
Unto Him—who was a man of sorrows, well aquatinted with grief—the earth is your footstool!
Unto Him—who bore in his body, the wages of all our sin—truly you are King of Kings!

Christ the Lord!

Forever.

Amen.