A Prayer for A Desperate World…

He grew up with learning issues and disengaged from school. 
He floated around drawn to new experiences, always ready to push boundaries, try new things and find 
ways to distract his boredom and pain. He was intelligent, curious and always on the look out for the new 
things to do or try and this led him into drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling and anything else that presented risk, 
excitement and distraction. Coming from a poorer background he was drawn to anything that promised 
money and access to all that which he was denied, and he lusted after.
His life cycled through chaos back into some relative order, then into deeper chaos and so on. The 
downward spiral grew deeper and darker, and he entered various rehabilitation centres and programs. These 
provided a circuit breaker to his downward spiral and brought some order back to his life – for a time. 
Inevitably he took up where he left off and got himself into more trouble.
As a young man he realised that the trajectory of his life was an early grave. He reasoned that he would 
either do something to get himself killed or kill himself out of the despair and self-loathing he felt. He also 
reasoned that death would be an end to his own suffering and the suffering he caused other people. The 
world would be better without him. 
Before any of this could happen, the law caught up with him and he was offered the alternative of rehab 
centre or prison – he chose rehab. He knew what to expect and didn’t think it would go anywhere but he 
went along with the program. Something happened in the first few days that changed his attitude, that did 
something in him. The counsellor he had listened to him and took him seriously, rather than rejecting him 
as a failure. He encouraged him to seek better ways forward to protect himself from the pain and deal with 
it. In the program, he recognised that he had a deep problem, and he couldn’t help himself! He knew this 
deep down but had resisted naming it until now. He reached out to the ‘higher power’ named in the 12-
steps programs. For some this was the wisdom of the program, of other people etc. For others it was God 
and this bloke recognised he needed something more than human wisdom – he needed some transcendent 
reality beyond himself and humanity. He reached out to God. 
He learned to pray and in that praying, he named this God, and sought the wisdom and vision of healing, 
wholeness, justice and peace – for himself and the others he was with. He asked for what the needed to live 
this day well. He also recognised the pain he’d caused so many people and sought forgiveness for the many 
things he’d done, too many to fully name. He also recognised that there were people he needed to forgive. 
There were griefs and wrongs done to him that he was holding onto, seeking revenge. Now he recognised 
his need to forgive others and let go – but he needed help from this God. His prayer also included the 
desperate plea that God would help him get through this day without succumbing to the seductions and 
temptations that would lead back into the cycles of hopelessness – he needed help to resist and be strong 
for this day!
This story reflects the story of Jesus this week (Luke 11:1-13). One of his disciples asks Jesus to teach 
them how to pray. Jesus replied saying:
“When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins 
against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
This prayer is a short form of the so-called ‘Lord’s Prayer’. It is a prayer that doesn’t name God, Christian, 
Jewish or otherwise – there is a reference to ‘Father’, a metaphor for the Divine Being who is the One who 
cares for us as a householder ensures care for the household. A father in antiquity was the one who had the 
power, authority and responsibility to care for the family, the household and ensure their complete well-being 
and security. The Father in the prayer is a Divine Householder who cares for the household of the world, 
ensuring just distribution and access to resources and security for all. Everything is there for us to have enough 
across the breadth of humanity, but some choose to accumulate more than necessary allowing others to have 
too little.
In the prayer there is the yearning for the reign of God to come across the earth and bring justice and hope 
for all – just as it is in heaven. The prayer yearns for the coming of God’s reign to restore justice, order, life 
Reflection Notes – 27/7/25
7
th Sunday after Pentecost – Geoff Stevenson
and peace to all. The movement is then to petition this Divine Householder for the bread we need for this day; 
that which we need for sustenance and life, today. It isn’t asking for security ten years hence or even next 
week, but for everything we need to live and be in this day. For many in our world, the prayer for daily bread 
is the cry of their heart’s – and bellies! Bread for their family, their children and themselves occupies their 
daily hopes and needs. Many of us are ignorant regarding the need for bread each day and we eat far more 
than we need for sustenance. 
Close to the need for bread is release from indebtedness. Too many people are indebted beyond what they 
will ever be able to pay. The processes of injustice across the world condemn them to eternal debt, depriving 
them of life and hope. Release of debt, monetary and otherwise is a rare and significant gift of grace. We pray 
for release of our own indebtedness, whether financial or through guilt and shame and we submit to the way 
of forgiveness, release of debt to those who owe us. This is a gift of freedom, peace and life and unites us 
together to share, trust, depend upon each other and to live peaceably and vulnerably before each other in 
confidence and trust. This is a vision of a world that is fair and just for all people, a world that cares and is 
generous. This is a world where all have enough and have the same opportunities to fulfil their potential. This, 
as I discover, aligns with the prayers deep in my heart – and the prayers for which others pray and yearn. 
Jesus concludes his teaching by promising that the Spirit of God will be given to anyone who asks – this 
is the only promise in this teaching moment. It is an invitation into grace, to journey into that deeper place 
and to receive the rich joy and peace of being’ in God. This is prayer of the heart and is the life Jesus invites 
us into!
This is the prayer the man in my story grew into. It arose out of the pain and struggle of his life as he drew 
on ancient wisdom and reached out to the Love beyond all things for life and hope. What is the deep prayer 
of your heart this day? How might this prayer align with your deepest yearnings and how might it transform 
you and change our world?