A Prayer About Belonging

 Where do I belong?  That sense of being together and belonging has been severely challenged over the course of this pandemic.  Whether it’s family members we haven’t seen in a long time or a church family that’s been at a digital arm’s length, lots of folks are feeling a gap in that sense of belonging. One of the greatest challenges in life is what follows from that sense of distance, and that’s loneliness. 

Mother Teresa said, “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat . . . We must find each other.”

The Bible records these comforting words for us:

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.  Ephesians 1:4-5

Loneliness is a feeling of not being able to reach another.  For some folks this didn’t just result from the months of social distancing either.  It was a feeling of being isolated even though people were around.  It was just that sense of unrelatedness, of not having someone who really understands your heart.

It can result from rejection, misunderstanding, separation, illness, or tragedy. Loneliness is often accompanied by feelings of worthlessness, a sense of isolation, feelings of being abandoned by God and others. 

Feeling lonely is not restricted to the poor or the rich, the educated or the uneducated.  God created us in His image, so we could know love in relationship with Him, and with those around us.  God loves us with an everlasting love. 

He loved us so much that He sent His son Jesus into the world to die on the cross so that the wages of sin could be paid for, and our relationship with Him restored. 

We do not have to continue to live lonely. When we accept Jesus as our Lord, we are adopted into God’s family and we become children of God.  When we know we are loved and accepted, our hearts are touched, and we begin to experience peace and the security of belonging.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.  Psalm 143:8

Loving God, Thank You for choosing us.  Long before we chose You, You chose us.  You adopted us into Your own family through Jesus.  Thank you so much for sending Jesus into the world so that our sins could be forgiven and our relationship with You restored.  In times of trouble, help us remember that we belong to You and You will never leave us alone.  We are truly blessed to be part of Your family.

By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is with me. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  Psalm 42:8, Lamentations 3: 22-23

Thank you for your love that is with us every day – morning, noon, and night.  Renew us in that love again today, we pray.  Wash over our hearts and make us conscious of your tender care and great joy in us that has you singing over us as You look on us.  These beautiful words are true.  Speak them over our hearts again today:

For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17

Some of the most touching words of our being with the God who loves us and His being with us are the familiar words of Psalm 23 and I thought it was just right to use those words to conclude our prayer time together today.

The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23

Let’s live well loved today.  Have a great day.