So that we might risk the journey

One of my EA PPI colleagues and friends, Marthie Momberg, from South Africa, has posted this prayer on her blog. Please follow her blog at http://www.marthiemombergblog.wordpress.com.

God,

You ask for our courage to protect the powerless
but we prefer to remain safe, preserving ourselves for future challenges.

You ask us to speak out for justice
but we whisper, in case we are heard.

You ask us to stand up for what is right,
but we would rather blend in to the crowd

You ask us to have faith,
when doubting seems so much easier.

Lord forgive our calculated efforts to follow you,
only when it is convenient to do so,
only in those places where it is safe to do so,
only with those who make it easy to do so.

Together we pray
God forgive us and renew us;
Inspire us and challenge us
So that we might risk the journey, to your kingdom with you,

Amen

(This is a Prayer of Confession from a service at GreenBelt, UK, in 2003, read at a service at Cheltenham Races. This prayer was recently used as an opening prayer for a skype meeting of the international Kairos core group.