God of Place
by Daniel Grothe
We pray to you Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
but we do not pray in abstraction.
For you are the God who demands specificity.
You are Jesus of Nazareth,
the Word made flesh,
born of Mary,
the eternal Son of God,
raised in the home of Joseph the carpenter.
You are not a god who hides in the heavenlies.
From the Garden, you have always been
the God of place.
So, don’t let us hide either.
Don’t let us run from the real relationships you have sent us into.
Don’t let us ignore the world while using your Name to do it.
We pray that you would help us to be as serious about our place as you are.
Help us to be committed to our people like you are.
Help us to love as you have loved,
Feeding the hungry
Clothing the naked
Honoring the elderly
Re-homing the orphans
Restoring the bereaved
Healing the sick
Naming the lonely
Welcoming the stranger
Living the incarnation in front of our neighbors.
We pray to you Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
but we do not pray in abstraction.
As we walk our streets, fill us with your Spirit
until we know how to love the place you have planted us.
In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Amen.
Daniel Grothe is the Associate Senior Pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is the author of The Power of Place and Chasing Wisdom. Daniel and his wife live on a small hobby farm outside of Colorado Springs with their three children.
