We prayed this lament in our gathering this morning. Sharing it out so you can continue to use it to lament and pray for the victims and the Asian-American community.
PRAYER OF LAMENT FOR ATLANTA SHOOTINGS
We cry out to you, O LORD,
as our hearts hurt and our souls question;
Why is there so much suffering in the world?
Why do people resort to violence?
Why, O God, does addiction wreak so much havoc on people’s lives?
We are weary, struggling, questioning.
We watched this week as news of another mass killing was reported;
We wondered why you allow mass shootings to take place;
We groaned at the loss of life and the weeping in the Asian-American community;
We struggled to understand how someone who claimed your name and was a member of a church like ours could commit these horrible acts of murder and violence;
And we were angered when discovering that the wickedness of pornography and sexual sin had so deeply gripped this mans heart leading to this disregard for life.
Today we choose to weep with those who weep.
We mourn for Soon Park, Hyun Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Yue, Delaina Yaun, Paul Michels, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng.
We cry out to you for comfort and peace for their families and communities.
We lift up Elicias Hernandez-Ortiz and pray for his healing.
We pray for the Asian-American community as they mourn, and ask that your power be revealed in the preaching of Asian pastors and your glory be revealed in their churches today.
And we pray that you would bring judgment on the pornography industry in our nation and world bringing this wickedness to an end.
Today, O Lord, we come to you in hope and trust, longing for you to act in justice and righteousness.
We cry out in repentance and for forgiveness for our failures to guard our hearts and protect our eyes.
We pray that you would help us to see the places where we fail to treat all people, no matter what race, culture, or language group as people created in your image and for your glory.
We confess that you are good and you work all things together for the good of your people.
We confirm that the only hope in a dark, violent, and broken world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ who Himself was murdered at the hands of violent men.
We commit ourselves today to making the Gospel known and loving our neighbors in your name.
We believe that you can bring beauty out of brokenness, light from darkness, and salvation out of deep pain.
And we know that there is a Day when you will judge all wickedness and renew all things, and that your redeemed people from all nations, tribes, and peoples will live in your presence forever.
In this hope and in the name of Jesus our Lord we pray,
Amen