Posts Tagged ‘relief from suffering’

 

Cursing toward Heaven

Posted on: August 15th, 2014 by Alden

DarksunG-d hears prayer. Some would say that G-d listens, with special attention, to the prayers of a suffering heart. This prayer rails to heaven with sorrow and anger, but never loses faith in G-d’s desire to hear even our most heart-wrenching woes. For some, the prayer may be too raw or too blunt. For others, it may be a gateway to a powerful conversation with G-d. In that sense, it is about releasing sorrow and anger to make space for holiness and love.

Cursing toward Heaven
G-d of Old,
Well of understanding,
Source of compassion,
I call out to You as witness
To my sorrow and my fear,
My anger and my pain.

Damn cancer.
Damn abuse.
Damn violence.
Damn rape.
Damn hit and run.
Damn alcoholism.
Damn Alzheimer’s.
Damn Parkinson’s.
Damn war.
Damn terror.
Damn torture.
Damn hunger.
Damn greed.
Damn abduction.
Damn _____________.
Damn _____________.
Damn _____________.

Oh sorrow and grief,
Too present in our days,
You will not win my life.
For my G-d listens to the aching heart.
My G-d listens to the suffering soul.
My G-d yearns to heal
All who cry out from the depths of despair.

Blessed are You, G-d of Old,
Who hears prayer.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Other prayers about difficult emotions include: “Doubt,” “Fear,” “Anger,” “Shame” and “Witnessing: A Meditation.”

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This Well of Pain

Posted on: May 23rd, 2013 by tobendlight

woman_painThis is a prayer for people in pain. Although it can be said by people in chronic pain, it was written for those whose pain, while intense, is expected to ease and end, such as after major surgery or enduring a kidney stone. As a result, it includes the line: “Grant me moments of relief on the path to a full recovery.” This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. I’ve written, but not yet posted, two prayers about chronic pain: “Relief from Chronic Pain” and “Relief of a Loved One’s Chronic Pain.” See also a prayer to be said “On Recurrent Pain.”

This Well of Pain
This well of pain,
This terror inside me,
Seems to have no end.
It rises up from a place
Beyond this realm of flesh
To hold my body hostage,
To trouble my days,
And to grieve my heart.

G-d of Old,
Grant me the will to endure
And the strength to survive
The stream of suffering,
For You are the Well of healing
And the River of life.
Grant me moments of relief
On the path to a full recovery.

.ברוך אתה ה’ אלוקינו מלך העולם הנותן ליעף כח
Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam hanotein laya’ef ko’ach.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who gives strength to the weary.

© 2013 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: See “On Recurrent Pain” and my other prayers for healing, including: “Quick Prayer for Healing,” “Quick Prayer for My Healing” and “Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific).”

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Photo Source: MedLine Plus

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