A prayer by Max Lucado

You Have Our Attention, Lord

"Our friends lost their house.

The co-worker lost her job.

The couple next door lost their retirement.

It seems that everyone is losing their footing.

This scares us. This bailout with billions.

These rumblings of depression.

These headlines: ominous, thunderous-“Going Broke!” “Going Down!” “Going Under!”

“What Next?”

What is next?

We’re listening. And we’re admitting: You were right.

You told us this would happen.

You shot straight about loving stuff and worshipping money.

Greed will break your heart, you warned. Money will love you and leave you.

Don’t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.

You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we just got dumped.

We were wrong to spend what we didn’t have, wrong to neglect prayer and ignore the poor,

Wrong to think we ever earned a dime. We didn’t.

You gave it.

And now, tell us Father, are you taking it?

We’re listening.

And we’re praying.

Could you make something good out of this mess?

Of course you can.

You always have.

You led slaves out of slavery,

Built temples out of ruins,

Turned stormy waves into a glassy pond and water into sweet wine.

This disorder awaits your order.

So do we.

Through Christ,

Amen· • • • ·

God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. (Lk. 18:7 NCV)