- A Prayer for Healing

Lord God, You are the great healer.

We grieve for so many hurts that have been done in Your name and for the use of faith as a means of power and division. We think in particular of residential schools in Canada and of the indigenous families broken, with lives stolen, dreams lost, and dignity trampled on. We lift up to You pain and hurts such as these that continue to be carried over time and that get passed on through generations. We ask for healing of these wounds, and a peace and strength that can only come from You.

You call all of us to help those who suffer, to encourage the broken hearted, to lift up those who have been put down. Open our eyes to see how You see. We don’t know the number of our days, but we are grateful to have choice in how we spend them. Show us the way forward.

Open our hearts to reconciliation, to shun division, and to seek a unity that does not require conformity. Weave our differences together into one body where when one part hurts, we all hurt, and when one part rejoices, we all rejoice. May we breathe in Your mercy and breathe out Your peace, breathe in Your grace and breathe out Your love.

We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Dr. Glen Berry, Associate Professor in the William and Virginia Leach Chair of Pastoral Psychology