“The thing to remember is not to read so much or talk so much about God, but to talk to God. To practice the presence of God.”
Prayer calls us to be real with God and with ourselves. Authenticity is a form of resistance against superficial faith and unexamined questions. In her book Joy Unspeakable, Barbara Holmes reminds us that “activism and contemplation are not functional opposites.” If we pursue justice without attending to the inner journey, we are more likely to do harm. Resisting harm means resisting the harm that we ourselves can do, as well as the harm done by others. Because we belong to a Church that is discriminatory against LGBTQ persons and other marginalized groups, we belong to a system of harm that we have the power and agency to resist.
We must root our lives in our concrete experience of God’s love in us or we may mirror the very systems of domination and oppression we resist.
Non-violent resistance leader and anti-colonialist Mahatma Gandhi emphasized that “prayer is the heart of resistance.” We join Gandhi and many other resistance leaders in emphasizing prayer as both a spiritual discipline and a form of resistance.
Authentic prayer is opening to God’s gracious presence with all that we are, what Scripture summarizes as our whole heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). Therefore, prayer is more a way of being than an isolated act of doing… Prayer is aimed at our deepest problem: our tendency to forget our liberating connectedness with God… Prayer also arises from our deepest hope: for the abundance of life that comes when we abide in our deepest home, our widest consciousness. Prayer is our bridge to Home.
In this season of Eastertide, we celebrate the light of the risen Christ. May our prayers guide us to this light and help us become light for others.
Living God,
We, like the women before they approached your tomb, often wonder how we will ever overcome obstacles in our path. "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" But you are a God of surprises, power, and new life. On this Easter Sunday, surprise us, Holy God! Work your earth-shaking, death-trampling, life-giving power in our lives and throughout all of creation. We bring before you ourselves, our family and friends, our churches, our denomination, our country, our world. Because of you, death cannot claim us and fear cannot bind us. It's in the name of the risen Christ that we pray. Amen.
Transforming God, whose light always penetrates the darkness and whose love always overcomes hate, we ask that you sustain us as we struggle to make your light visible in an angry and frightened world. Nurture us daily as we work for your justice in unjust places and your peace in places where no peace is to be found. Give us courage and strength when we are fearful and weak. Give us hope and forgiveness when we feel hopeless and angry. And guide us every step of the way as we walk toward the light. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
God, your light is the commencement and culmination of creation. From now until forever you are the light of life. You invite us to walk in your light and become lights to the world as we do so. Revive our hearts to sing, “This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine!” Amen.
Holy God, “when the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea,” yet you were there. Even amidst the darkness in the world now, I trust that again, you are there, preparing once more to intervene with your creative power. In some instances, I find it easy to call out the darkness that exists: when your beloved LGBTQ children are dismissed by your church; when I sheepishly neglect to stand up for my marginalized neighbor; when fear of the other seems to win the day. But I cannot always separate the light from the darkness in the world, for like at dawn and dusk, the powers and light and darkness often meet, mixing and mingling in systems, in structures, in my enemies, in myself. Grant me the humility to allow your light to shine through the cracks in my life. Shine through the broken places in our institutional church and in our world, so that all may be healed. In the name of Jesus, the true light of the world. Amen.
Resist Harm is not an organization or a coalition. It has no employees, offices, or overhead. However, it does incur expenses for web infrastructure, promotion, printing, and organizing. We are a movement of volunteers and 100% funded by people and churches like you. Anything you give helps to make this movement more effective. To give, donate at Reconciling Ministries Network’s website and designate “Resist Harm.” 100% of your gift will pay for Resist Harm’s direct costs. RMN has graciously agreed to administer the funds donated for the Resistance movement for no charge.
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