What if fear could become a teacher, a signal for a moment of bravery, a personal call for a moment of heroism? We would learn to embrace our fears as gifts and to use them to heal ourselves and others. This prayer is from a series about difficult emotions, including “Doubt,” “Shame” and “Anger.” To along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Fear
G-d of veiled mystery,
G-d of hidden destinations,
I’ve walked through jet black nights
Waiting for the hint of dawn.
I’ve climbed the silent trail
Hoping to discover another wandering soul.
I’ve risen at daybreak
To conquer fierce winds and shifting snows.
I live between moments of power and moments of despair,
Between victory and defeat,
Between crushing losses and uncertain futures.

Fear is a memory.
Fear is a warning.
Fear offers a choice.

Holy One,
G-d who placed challenges and triumphs
In the path of the righteous
And at the feet of our ancestors,
Help me to see my fear as a tool,
As a source
And as a friend.
Let fear be my calling to bravery,
An invitation to vitality and strength.

Blessed are You, G-d of trials and victories,
Who created fear as the pathway to power.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: I use this prayer for day 23 of counting the Omer. Other prayers in this series include: “Doubt,” “Shame” and “Anger.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: KOCO Oklahoma City Radio