Imprecation

Lent 6: Palm Sunday Lord Teach Me To Pray/Give Your Heart to God

Lent 6 Prayers of the People & Lament, Hosanna, Save me, Giving space for real sadness and deep lament for the pain that comes with living is a gift that God gives us so that we do not have to suffer lonely or unheard. When the children say “Hosanna” Save us, it is because our suffering deserves to be named. Imprecation prayer is a type of prayer that exists to name all of the injustices of the world and to call God forth to fix them.

Hosanna: A Dangerous Prayer (Anti Gun Violence)

Psalm 23 as a Lament or James 5:1-6
Revelation 21:1-6 or Mark 11:12-14
*Imprecation: Psalm 55 or Psalm 58

Breath Prayer

Inhale: Hosanna
Exhale: Save Us

Inhale: I hurt too much
Exhale: God, take my pain

Inhale: There is too much injustice
Exhale: I will not stand for it

Inhale: God hear my anger
Exhale: God let me be ok with being angry

Call to Worship:
Let us come to God who comforts us
God is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega
God is present, even when we feel abandoned
Sometimes, we feel alone in the pit, God
God be with us even when we yell at the empty air
Come, let us lament together today.

Call to Confession: God hears us, God can take our anger. Let us confess our laments today.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that anger and lament do not fit well into polite society. Too often they are used by bullies and power brokers, instead of expressions of true injustice and pain. We confess that Christianity does not leave much room for lament at church, we like to shuffle it off to certain times and places. Even though we have a Jesus who called out hypocrites, squelched storms and condemned fig trees—not to mention our favorite flipping tables story. Help us to find healthy ways to express and support lament we pray—in the name of our fully human and sometimes grumpy Jesus. (Silent Prayer) Amen.

Prayer of Confession: God, I confess that some days I am so full of emotion, I do not know how to express it. I feel like I am shouting into the void, trying to fix all the things that are wrong with my community, the universe and me. And then I confess, I feel ashamed, because I think that all of this: my feelings, the lack of perfection, the feeling of aloneness are thing to feel guilty over. Remind me that we are supposed to be building a community where these things can be safely expressed and held, and help us to find support on these days we pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus cries when we are crying, and walks with us in our anger and hurt. Jesus loves us in all of our emotions, thus we know the comforting Good News In Jesus Christ we are Forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, sendyour Holy Spirit to tend to us, so that when we feel overwhelmed by emotions, we might remember that you are here to walk with us, to cry with us, to lament with us, and sometimes just to sit with us. Help us when we feel like we are in the pit of the despair, to find the connection and community we need, each and every time. Amen.

Taize: My Soul finds Rest in God Alone

Prayer Activity: Option 1: Cry with those who cry, take a rock and meditate over those prayers you are lamenting, drop the rock into a bowl of water

Option 2: Write Down all of your Prayers of Concern and add them to/make a new woven prayer cloth https://theresaecho.com/2012/09/20/interactive-way-to-pray-in-worship-part-ii/

*For information on imprecation see This Here Flesh by Cole Arther Riley’s chapter on Anger

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Don’t Give up, A Prayer

God

I am pretty mad at humans today

and Old White Men

and the powers that be

And the manipulators

Who thought one dollar more

was more important

than getting justice done

and the church

who put off

flipping tables

for another time and place

And I want to rage

and scream

and find the right punishment

for all of my enemies

except I don’t really know who my enemies are

just they they are out there

whispering nonsense about

pro-life and family first and great america

as they grind these things into dust

as they deal death

with additive drugs like “safety” “religion” and “whiteness”

And I feel like I’m going to throw up or pass out,

and my soul hurts with the magnitude of it all.

Is this when you run away into the desert? Jesus?

Or hop a boat into the ocean?

Or feed 5,000 people just for the hell of it?

Or invite yourself over to the tax collector’s house to dinner, just to piss everyone off?

Because at times like these I feel like if I don’t enact justice viscerally, I’m going to implode.

And then I have to remind myself I’m not Jesus, I cannot save the world.

So I beat my chest, scream a tree, write an angsty psalm, cry.

And maybe I retreat for one day instead of forty,

maybe I feed one person instead of 5,000

maybe I invite someone I’ve been meaning to over to dinner instead of a tax collector.

And I remind myself, it all counts.

Because all justice counts,

Because I’m not a Jesus or a superhero,

but at least I can do something,

and I’m not giving up.

Thanks for reminding us not to give up God.

Amen.

Feel free to adapt/use/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

God,

I call you might and power

Against Guns

Violence

Racism

I REJECT this evil.

All the violence and the ongoing bombing across the nations

that is so commonplace, we don’t even report it anymore.

I reject all Violence,

What I’m saying is…

Peace of Prince; you need to deal with this.

And as for the ongoing fires, floods, tornados and hurricanes of the earth

Whew…Lord. I don’t know, because we have just done so little,

(so I’m sneaking in a prayer about that too)

I also deny the evil that prevents

Trans girls from playing soccer

Trans Families from taking care of their children

Trans Individuals from accessing healthcare

I call God’s judgement on you–because Lord Knows its above my pay grade.

I call God down upon those govern and who want to

force pregnancy and birth on all people, risking their lives, livelihood, liberty and happiness

but cannot keep enough baby formula on the shelves, free school lunches or childcares open

May God have mercy upon you, in the sweet and loving way that God because I do not even know what to do with this information.

God I am calling you–who gave your very body and blood as the sacrifice for peace–you who always set the table overflowing so every single person could eat,

You who never ask someone their immigration, sexuality or gender status before you heap their plates with food, and extras and leftovers to take home with the communion feast–

I ask you to come down here and talk to these people.

Because I am done with your Children today.

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/Share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Imprecation: Shatter Them

Lord God, how do I do this prayer thing when I’m really angry at someone?

Can I wish them ill? Do I throw curses off of my tongue?

(If I use the fancy word for curses: imprecation, does that make it better? It feels better to say Imprecation)

What did Moses do when the Pharaoh continually made a promise to free the Hebrew people, and then took it back, over and over again?

What did Jesus do when people tried to throw him off the cliff the first time he preached?

Can I just shake the dust off from those encounters, and continue on my day?

That doesn’t feel like enough!

Lord, God, I know it is my job to name evil when I see it, and that a synonym of imprecation and curses is simply denunciation.

Sibling Jesus, I am praying that you Help me to reject evil, Lord. Gift me with a better understanding than hate the sin and love the sinner (because that just isn’t good enough)

And I know the Psalms is full of really hard curses like: Give them what they deserve, and let my enemies experience what I have experienced.

Hannah says ” He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail. The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;” (1 Sam 1:9)

Mother Mary, who is often portrayed as sweet and quiet prays: “God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1: 51-53)

So I guess my prayer will echo theirs, in it’s own simplicity.

And trust you know the full meaning of the prayer, because I confess I do not.

And justice is yours.

Lord shatter the enemy.

Those in power Shatter them to pieces.

Shatter the hardhearted as only you can.

In Christ’s name. I submit this prayer to you, O God.

Amen

Use/Copy/Adapt with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Denunciation of Evil Prayer

Mundane Prayers & Pandemic Prayers