A Prayer for Staying Awake

O Tender Presence,

Who meets us not in thunder, but in stillness…

Be near to me now.

 

In the quiet ache I carry,

The worries I do not speak aloud,

The weight I hold in my chest,

Be near.

 

You know the places in me that are tired…

The longings I’ve tucked away,

The questions that haunt me in the dark,

The hopes I’m almost afraid to name.

 

Help me stay awake…

Not just to the world’s great pains,

But to the small, ordinary sorrows that shape my days.

The unspoken grief.

The hidden disappointment.

The ache of relationships strained,

Of dreams delayed,

Of love that feels just out of reach.

 

Help me stay awake

To the goodness too…

The light that flickers even in the dusk,

The kindness I receive when I least expect it,

The strength I did not know I had.

 

Help me stay awake

To my own life,

To the beauty woven into the mundane,

To the sacred tucked into this very breath.

 

And when I feel the pull to numbness or escape,

Call me gently back.

Not with judgment,

But with compassion.

 

As Jesus prayed alone in the garden,

Let me learn the courage of stillness.

The holiness of simply being present.

 

May I walk through my own Good Friday moments

Not with fear,

But with trust,

That something deeper is unfolding in me,

That love has not let go,

That I am held,

Even here.

Even now.

 

Amen.