A Prayer of Invocation

O God,
we dare to speak your name at the threat of having our mouths stopped,
for your name is holy,
and wherever we are we ought to take of our shoes,
for all ground everywhere is sacred.

Still, we pray for your presence here,
that our spirits be joyous, our words inspired and true, our works hereafter be just.

Renew our minds and bodies to be fresh and vital as the morning light,
and grant us peace within as deep as the starry night.

Open our eyes to your glory in the subtle dazzle of everything,
in the lives of every living thing,
that everywhere and at all times we assuredly be mindful of you.

Deliver us from captivity to comfort and property
that we may be free to risk for you at every turn and circumstance.

Make us brave and bold and scrupled enough
to know that to love our enemies does not mean to be afraid to make them
in a daily thrust toward justice and in the bold venture of saying what we mean
and meaning what we say, in a trustworthy strive toward intimacy.

Awaken us to the task of becoming beautiful in spirit, mind, and heart,
and so in face, that our gifts might be worthy of your grace.

Arouse us to pay the price of being merciful
that our lives reflect your mercy in us.

Empower us to dare to be compassionate that your dreams for our humanity come true,
to be imaginative that your kingdom come in and through us,
to be disciplined yet flexible that we may prepare the way for you in our hearts
and in your world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


"We Dare to Speak Your Name," by Ted Loder in My Heart in My Mouth
Innisfree Press, 2000.