Whatever the color of our skin, there is much to grieve and lament over right now. So many of us are hurting. So many of us feel powerless to help. Those of us who are not people of color want to stand with our brothers and sisters, but sometimes are unsure how to.
But all of us can pray. And all of us must pray.
So we’ve invited women of color to help all of us lift our eyes to the Lord of all and speak to him as our Father about the times we’re walking through. Each day for the next week or two, visit this blog and you’ll find a video, voice recording, or written prayer that will help you to pray into this situation.
We’re honored that serving us today is Blair Linne, who lives in Philadelphia and is a spoken word artist, actress, and author.
Triune God: Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit.
You alone are worthy of all praise, glory and honor.
You alone are omnipotent and you are holy holy holy.
Lord you are good, just and you always do what is right.
God we first of all want to say thank you.
Thank you that you sent your only beloved, God the Son, in the flesh, to enter into our fallen world.
Jesus is familiar with suffering.
Jesus has been tempted at every point, like us, yet He is without sin.
Thank you that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, delivering us from your wrath that we deserved because of our own sin. God you took care of our greatest problem, which was that we were separated from you. Thank you for reconciling us to yourself through faith, allowing us to have a relationship with You through our union with Christ.
Lord, we come to you with a burden on our heart. It was a problem that our mothers and fathers and grands and great grands have also had to carry. You know the burden that we bear any time we are not treated like the image bearers that we are. Lord, it pains us when we must defend our humanity and dignity. When we see another Black person killed by a police officer who swore an oath to protect and serve, it grieves us. It reminds us of the many times we have been stopped by the police and threatened. When we have to have conversations with our children about how to interact with the police without getting shot, it shakes us to the core. The fact that Black bodies are being judged by police officers and then left dead (sometimes for hours) in the streets, angers us. Lord, how long!
Lord, we pray that the videos that have been made public would be enough for our society to believe what we have been saying all along, and turn away from its participation in the sin of partiality. Lord, help this world acknowledge the wrongs that have been done and the systems that have been set up which support white supremacy, police brutality and racism. God, deliver this country that has been set on oppressing many of our people according to the flesh, since they brought our ancestors to the States on slave ships. Give them a change of mind. And we pray that as your gospel goes forth, that you would be merciful to save, granting them a changed heart.
When our brother or sister in Christ denies the systemic sins of our nation against us it makes us feel like the overlooked widows in Acts 6. We are just trying to eat. Trying to survive. Help us Lord.
Lord, I thank you that you don’t overlook us. You are near to the brokenhearted. You save the crushed in spirit. A bruised reed you will not break, and a faintly burning wick you will not quench; you will faithfully bring forth justice.
Lord, we cry out to you! Help us Lord. Deliver us Lord. Help us to love justice because you hate uneven scales. Help us to not repay offense for offense. Help us in our anger to not sin. Help us to return misunderstandings from members of our church with love and grace.
Help our white brothers and sisters in Christ to understand. Help them to grieve with us. Help them to bear this burden. Tear down the walls of hostility that we might display to the world that the church is a city on a hill, not a group of hypocrites who chooses comfort over sacrifice.
May our churches never be a safe place for racists or white supremacists.
Lord, help our leaders to do good. We pray for our president, governors, mayors, police chiefs and council members. Lord, help them to stand for what is right.
We pray for the pastors, elders and leaders in our churches; help them to be delivered from any biases which would cause them to not love their neighbors.
We thank you for your word, which anchors us to live in this fallen world while we prepare for the next.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Not tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword.
'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'
Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Come soon, Great conquering Lion. Please come soon!
Amen.
Blair Linne is also a contributor to His Testimonies, My Heritage. Hear the voices of women of color on the most important subject in any age—the word of God.
Hear the voices of women of color on the most important subject in any age—the word of God.
This inspiring collection of devotions is by a diverse group of women of color—African-American, Hispanic, Caribbean, and Asian women. Contributors include Kristie Anyabwile, Jackie Hill-Perry, Trillia Newbell, Elicia Horton, Christina Edmondson, Blair Linne, Bev Chao Berrus and more.
Blair Linne is a Christian spoken word artist, actress, and Bible teacher. Blair is recognized as one of the originators of the Christian spoken word genre. At 13, she was one of the youngest contributors to the Anansi Writers Workshop at L.A.’s prestigious art forum, The World Stage. Since then, she has toured globally, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through spoken word. Blair has written poetry for Sprite, Neutrogena, NBC, and the Gospel Coalition. She has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, on ABC’s Nightline, popular Christian radio show Revive Our Hearts, and several Christian Hip Hop albums. Blair’s debut album, When Light Meets Water, delivers her God-glorifying, Christ-centered, gospel-saturated poetry against a backdrop of Neo-Soul influenced sounds, underground hip-hop and live instrumentation. She has appeared in numerous theater productions, commercials and television shows including Days of Our Lives, Alias, Malcolm in the Middle, Boston Public, The Parkers and American Dreams, as well as her own Saturday morning show, SK8 (Skate) on NBC. Blair lives in Philadelphia with her husband Shai Linne and their three children Sage, Maya, and Ezra; she serves in discipling women at Risen Christ Fellowship, where her husband is one of the founding pastors.