Open

Gracious God, I am having trouble praying for others. My own prayers seem so urgent and all consuming...I have no time or patience for others and their concerns. I leave the house and the world seems the same. It doesn't seem to understand what is shaping up in my life. The radio hosts laugh and joke. Politicians blabber on. Strangers complain about gas prices and the line they must wait in. They don't know. They can't know. I barely understand myself.

And yet, there are real hurts among us all. Hurts friends, and strangers, carry that are hidden from view. I have often been blind to their needs. Forgive me.

So, protect my heart from hardening and my self from turning inward. Keep me open to the larger needs, those beyond me and mine. Teach me to empty myself as your Son did...remind me that your Grace is ever flowing.

Amen.