A Prayer for the Journey

Breathe Deeply, remember the very breath of life
which God breathed into his creation flows in you now.
As long as you breathe it, you do so for God’s good pleasure.

Take a moment to slow your body, sit in this moment.
Let your shoulders drop. Let your jaw unclench.
Breathe slowly.

—

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1–2).

Father, the road ahead is not always clear to us.
It can feel as though danger surrounds us.
The journey can feel uncertain, even impossible.

Yet, Lord, you are not distant from this moment.
To you, this moment is clear.
In you, there is hope in this moment.
With you, everything is certain, nothing is impossible.

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand. (Psalm 121:3-5).

When fear rises, let us remember the word given to Israel
when it seemed all else was lost,
when they were cornered and hope seemed impossible,
when all that was before them was impassable,
and all that was behind them sought their destruction.

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:14).

May we remember the promise spoken through the prophet:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2).

You are not alone in this crossing.

“The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7–8).

So in this moment we stop and still ourselves.

To you we lift our eyes.
With you we take the next step.

Our help comes from you, our Lord.

Amen.