Prayers from God’s children who receive and are responsible for childcare.

Many of us know the expression “desperate times call for desperate measures”. In times like this where there is a national crisis and a lot of uncertainty, it is important to remember the difficult and sometimes impossible choices that caregivers, especially in the working class, have to make in order to survive.

The famine in Genesis 26 shows that hard times can add stress to already difficult decisions. Isaac while caring for his family finds his life and relationships interrupted by a famine. 

Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech sours when resources become scarce and decisions need to be made in order for Abimelech to care for his own people. Stability did not come easy for Isaac and Rebekah’s household. In fact, every place they tried to establish wells after being forced to the valley of Gerar only led to more conflict.

Have you ever tried to cultivate a field of dreams in a world of famine - to provide for your child when you did not think it possible?

For us, the Lord has promised to make room. And this is our prayer this morning, that we join with young people and the adults who love them; God’s children need space to learn and to run, to cultivate joy and practice playfulness. We need government authorities to care about our babies well-being. To respond with equity and wisdom to the risks they face. We need the Lord to listen.

Let’s pray together.

Lord, we come to You this morning, knees bowed and body bent. Like babies stirred from our sleep with nightmares of separation and danger. We are knocking on Your door this morning, before the rising of the sun, to see if You are awake, to ask if You are aware. And we are wondering, O Lord, if You will listen. Listen, Lord, to the cries of Your children who provide care for young people, listen to the heart longings of the little ones we love. Open Your door to us, bring the Spirit of wholeness into our house. Bid us sit beside You in Your divine stillness, and tell us that You will listen.

Listen Lord: We are Children. We are youth. We are tweens and pre-teens, teens and young adults. We are told that we must be protected, but we are not permitted to touch the elders in our lives that we love. We are called carriers, but we are also at risk. They keep singing that we are the future. The more we learn, the more we wonder what our future will be. We are not allowed to go to school, we are warned not to play with our friends, we cannot do the things that come naturally to us because of how You made us, so we hate it here.

Listen Lord: We are Parents and Guardians. Lord, you have trusted us with the lives of these little ones. You have lent them to us as an inheritance and charged us with the sacred duty of raising them up and keeping them safe until You call them into the service of their potential. There are so many things, Dear Lord, that stand in the way of their thriving. Before they leave us they must overcome prisons, peer pressure, and prejudice. They must experience tears, losses, and regrets. Even though we desire to, we cannot protect them from all the dangers of this world. We must trust in You and pray that the world's sharp edges find them a little late. We bear witness to their suffering and it breaks our hearts, so we hate it here.

Listen Lord: We are Birth Workers, Care providers, and loved ones to little ones. We are deeply invested in the health of the young people that we love, and we believe this to be a divine calling. You told us that we would never understand the kingdom if we refused to come to You as a child. We are coming to You today as children on behalf of children, knowing that we are all Your children, because You have told us to draw near. So we are stretching across a barren distance of hope unseen and information unknown to reach out for a word from You, and we hate it here. 

The wise Preacher of Ecclesiastes wrote that he wrestled with gaining knowledge. “With much wisdom comes much sorrow”, and Oh Lord how we testify of this today. Creator, look down today on these precious ones You have made. Redeemer, remind us of Your rescuing work. Comforter, Spirit, Guide, lead us in the way everlasting. Lord if You would, bring us the “hope against hope” You’ve provided in Your Word. Help us to hear You, and to hear each other, even as we pray that You’re listening.

Scripture: Genesis 26, Famine in the Land

Stories from the Saints: Amariyanna Copeny AKA Little Miss Flint

https://www.maricopeny.com/

Sacred Songs: 

Precious Memories, Aretha Franklin (perf.)

Give us This Day our Daily Bread, Edwin Hawkins

Something Inside So Strong, Labbi Siffre

Images: Kehinde Wiley