A Prayer of Lament to El Roi, the God who Sees

A prayer of Lament to El Roi, the God who Sees. 

Lord, surely you see 

the fathers and mothers across Iran 

who grieve for their children,

the young who went out into the streets 

to protest for a better future

and never came home.

Lord, you weep

with families watching their loved ones

torn from their communities,

accused of crimes they did not commit.

You weep with those who fled violence and persecution,

now threatened with return

to the places they escaped.

Lord, you hear the division that spreads among the Church, your Body,

the ways we have isolated ourselves

from one another's pain.

Lord, you bore our sin,

You hung on the cross, 

Innocent, 

And took our brokenness upon yourself.

And so we repent. 

We grieve the ways we have failed

To love our neighbors well,

To remember our brothers and sisters

Who suffer for their faith. 

those we know by name and those we don’t: 

the one in seven Christians around the world 

who face persecution for their faith.

Lord, surely you are with us. 

You see. 

You hear. 

You weep. 

Breathe your Spirit upon us again. 

Let the weary and broken

Find rest in you.

Spread your wings over us; 

Let us find refuge there. 

Arise and defend the fatherless, 

the widows, and the foreigners–

and may we, your Church 

Rise and join you in this work.

Lord, we wait for you–

for you are faithful

And our hope is in you alone. 

Sources referenced:

• Psalm 82; Psalm 91; Genesis 16: 6-13

• Protests in Iran: an article by the Guardian, and Amnesty International

• Policy Updates on Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers; 5% of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have violent convictions, 73% have no criminal conviction at all (Cato Institute).

• Recent data on Persecution of Christians Worldwide; 1 in 7 Christians worldwide who face persecution or discrimination for their faith (Open Doors 2026 World Watch List); Many refugees who are in the U.S. now come from Christian backgrounds, fleeing persecution and now are being threatened with detainment, family separations, and deportations. "Christian denominations made up the largest group among refugee arrivals in fiscal year 2024, according to the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration." (One Part of the Body Report, Center for the Study of Global Christianity, National Association of Evangelicals, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services, and World Relief)