These prayers by Cole Arthur Riley appear in Issue 24 of The Mockingbird.

For Those Who Thought They Knew

God of belief,

When we take account of the tragedies of the world, it is difficult to believe there is a powerful and loving God with us. There is so much we wish you would intervene in to bring justice and healing now. We trust that you are a God who is patient with these doubts. A God who is not threatened by our unbelief but draws near to us in it. Help us toward an understanding of you that includes tension and mystery. Let us be empathetic with our souls, which have endured so much suffering, and incline us to ask deep questions of our maker. But as we do so, let us find an empathy for you — a God who is no stranger to suffering but endures all things with us — that we might find full liberation. Let our doubts lead us into deeper intimacy with the divine as we tell the truth of the questions that plague us. Amen.

For Those Who’ve Never Felt God

God of Thomas,

We are grateful that you are not made insecure or agitated by our disbelief. Instead, you show us great compassion, understanding how difficult it is to believe without meeting God face-to-face. As we are confronted with the tragedies and traumas of our current moment, we need you — a Christ with dark and scarred flesh — to bare your wounds and let us press our own scarred flesh into yours, so that we can remember a God who knew suffering. A God of true solidarity. In the face of our deepest doubts, thank you for moving closer. Grant that as we draw near to the wounds of those we love, we might somehow touch the wounds of Christ and find belief. Amen.

For Those Who Don’t Trust Spiritual Spaces

God of wisdom,

It’s hard to know what to say to a God claimed by those who have wounded us. Can we trust you? We have known what it is to exist in spiritual spaces that are more interested in controlling us than loving us. To have the room turn against us when our beliefs diverge from the group’s. We thank you for giving us an interior compass, an intuition that no longer trusts spirituality that feels like captivity. Free us from those spaces. But as we depart, keep us from relinquishing our own connection to the divine. Help us to approach you slowly in the safety of our own interior worlds before granting another spiritual space access to us. And when we’re ready, guide us into new and safe communities — communities capable of holding our deepest doubts, our beliefs, the fullness of uncertainty, without being threatened. May we approach shrewdly and carefully, for our own protection, as we search for spaces that honor the whole of us. Ase.

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Excerpted from Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley. Copyright © 2024 by Cole Arthur Riley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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