A Prayer of Petition for Difficult Moments

Life can be a roller coaster at times. Lots of ups and downs, with brief moments of terror countered by brief moments of unspeakable joy. It is comforting to know that God is with us in every one of these stages. He does not abandon us. His love is infinite and unconditional, especially in our times of doubt or need. Indeed we are told in Luke 15:7 that, “In the same way, there will be a glorious celebration in heaven over the rescue of one lost sinner who repents, comes back home, and returns to the fold…more so than for all the righteous people who never strayed away”.

It comes as no surprise to the self-reflective soul, that there are many times when we fall into the pit of seductive temptations of the ego. When we do this we inevitably lose our way. When we become aware of the fact that we have lost our way; if we, by the grace of God, see the error of our ways, we are often moved by sorrow and need to turn back to God, to seek his forgiveness, his generous mercy and the graces we need to find our way “back home”.

The following prayer-poem reveals this experience. Like the penitential psalms, it is a recognition of lostness. In contrast, such a prayer arises from a deep faith that there is One who listens to us, who loves us and cares for us, even though we have turned away from him. And he takes infinite joy in our desire to return to him.