Prayer: Strange Territory


Here is a prayer which reflects on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 6:20-22). It was written by Christine Jerrett in 2011, and posted on her blog (see link below).

Strange Territory:
A prayer reflecting on the Beatitudes

God of life and of truth,
Your Son invites us to see the world through your eyes
and we find ourselves disoriented:

You bless the poor
You bless the meek
You bless the pure in heart.
You turn our world and its values upside down.

We have signed on to follow your Son
but this is strange territory.
It doesn’t look anything like
the life we have been taught to yearn for,
to work for,
to believe will bring us happiness.

Yet, You know the despair that besets
so many of our young people
who fear that their future has been mortgaged
by our greed and carelessness.
You hear the cries of those who
have traded their souls for power and money
and now have emptiness as a friend.
You see those who are caught in lives that
lead only to weariness and anxiety.

Set us at Jesus’ feet
so we can learn to judge our lives differently.
Awaken in us that hunger and thirst for you
which will lead us to your will
and your peace.

Open our eyes to see your unexpected blessings.
Open our hearts to welcome you
when you come to us in strange ways.

Then make us into a community of blessedness
that beckons this neighbourhood
into your joy.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus
who blesses us with your living presence
and fills our lives with your life-changing truth. Amen.