A Prayer for the Lost

When I was in elementary school, one of my biggest points of pride was that I could play the chorus of “Amazing Grace” on the recorder. Maybe not on the first try, maybe not without a few squeaky notes, but I could do it.

The song has always given me goosebumps, even when I was little and couldn’t quite understand the magnitude of its lyrics. But it has proven to be a gift that keeps on giving, as each passing year seems to add depth to its simplicity.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I'm found

Was blind, but now I see

“I once was lost…”

There are moments in each of our lives when we feel lost to varying degrees, and perhaps the scariest of these is when we don’t realize it. Or perhaps when we’ve forgotten there is more to be found.

When we’ve resigned ourselves to the circumstances we’re in, unable to see past the darkness, the heaviness, unwilling to struggle through the healing process because we’re already too fatigued.

So today I’d just like to pray for those clouds to clear.

I pray that those who are lost would simply notice. And I don’t say that condescendingly. I think it can be comforting to realize, oh, there is more than this? To look around at the wasteland we’ve submitted to surviving in and noticing a light on top of a hill—something that makes you tilt your head in curiosity, like, what is that?

I pray that light would be made visible to all who need to see it, that the lost would begin to be called out of the wilderness and into the warmth of something new.

I pray that those feeling like they’re treading water would see the hands reaching down to save them.

I pray that those leaning on addictions would suddenly notice their hollowness, their lack of lasting satisfaction and comfort, their inability to fix what is broken.

I pray for those afraid of new beginnings, or those discouraged by their second or third or fiftieth fresh start. I pray they would know they deserve it, and that doors would be opened for them.

I pray that Amazing Grace might find its way into the hearts and ears of those who need it most, be it from a soulfully sung rendition or a squeaky version on the recorder, allowing the lost, at last, to feel found.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 1 Corinthians 1:3