My Only Answer

—Renee Adele Phillips
with “The Lord’s Prayer”

Our Father,
Oh, how we need you.
which art in heaven,
and also with us.
hallowed be Thy name.
I call on Your most holy, sacred name.
Thy kingdom come
My soul aches for You to take away the pain of this world
Thy will be done
yet I’m scared to say those words and surrender the control I think I have.
on earth as it is in heaven.
This earth quakes with hate and violence and anger,
Give us this day
and I can only face this one day at a time.
Our daily bread
I cannot live without my daily portion of You–
And forgive us our debts,
for without You, I descend into darkness—forgive my willful blindness,
As we forgive our debtors.
and show me how to give grace to those whose actions I don’t understand.
Lead us not into temptation,
Turn my eyes away from the world.
but deliver us from evil:
O, Father, You are the only salvation from the evil that seems to spread like wildfire.
For Thine is the kingdom,
In my fear, You remind me to look up: all of this is Yours
and the power
and though I am powerless to change it—You are not.
and the glory
so I will praise You
forever.
and finally say, with peace—“Your will, not mine, be done.”
Amen.
Amen.