BY KACHAEL J, KALEB A. OATES & LINDSEY BAYNHAM

LOOK AT ME

A Prayer – Inspired by Jeremiah 14

(Kachael J)

Look at me. See Me.
Listen to me. Hear Me.
I have faltered. I have failed.
My sins garnish me like garish and gaudy jewels.
It glazes everything that I touch.
Please don’t leave me.
Not now. Not like this.
Can you not see that I am yours?
My hands are your hands
My mouth is your mouth.
My heart beats in time with your heart.
If you leave me, where will I go?
I have no one else but you.
Save me, love me, heal me, so all will know your glory has NO Limits.

A KISS FROM MERCY

A Liturgy on God's Mercy

(Kaleb A. Oates)

Leader:
I've been kissed by the lips of mercy.
Such words, how do I express?
How could I say, "thank you"?
And how could I say "yes"?

Congregation:
Mercy’s kiss erased the scars.
Mercy’s kiss eased the pain.
Mercy’s kiss cleared my day.
Mercy’s kiss dried up all the rain.

Leader:
Mercy, I am so glad that you've given me another chance. Into to window of my future, I've had the opportunity to glance.

Congregation:
Mercy’s kiss has lasted a lifetime.
The imprint has never left my face.
Thank you, God, for your kiss
of mercy – so much easier have you made this race.

Congregation:
Mercy’s kiss is still felt, as if it were given today.
The price that once indebted me, no longer shall I pay.

All:
It reminds me that I am favored.
It reminds me that I am blessed.
Lord, how can I say, "thank you"?
And how can I say "yes"?

WHO AM I AND WHY AM I HERE? –

A Young Person's Prayer Request

(Kaleb A. Oates)

Who am I? And why am I here?
I'm so frustrated, confused, and unclear.
What is my purpose for living, today?
Lord, do you hear me? Answer, I pray.

I don't want to live without knowing why.
That's like shedding tears with no reason to cry.
But I'm one hundred percent sure you have a plan for me.
Before I was even born, you had in mind my destiny.

Your guidance and direction are what I really need,
because doubt and fear do their best to impede.
The hate I see today distracts me from your love.
Worry and regret blinds my sight of things above.

I am here for a reason; there was no mistake.
These chains that hold me in bondage, I will, eventually, break.
I know that I am young; but I don't know that I matter.
If I drop my dreams and hopes, will they silently shatter?

As you can see, more questions I have, appear.
I just simply want to know: Who am I, and why am I here?

Lord, I wish my existence weren’t this complex.
I wish you would've revealed my exact purpose through text.
Maybe you forgot that your attention I would need.
You probably weren't expecting me to beg and plead.

Can I, really, be the only one who needs to know:
Who they are, why they are, and the places that they will go?
Now, I can hear you, as I meditate and kneel.
Your presence becomes alive to me, only when I am still.

Speak Lord, speak to me, and I will obey.
Please, please, tell me why I'm here today.

How glad I am to know that, indeed, I'm going somewhere.
And, that all this time, you were actually helping me to prepare.
The ups, the downs, the highs - none were in vain.
Who am I and why am I here: it's all in Jesus' name!

PRAYER FOR HOPE

Inspired by Hebrews 11:1

(Lindsey Baynham)

O, Listening God, we know that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In the midst of blind hatred, persecution, confusion, death, division, and agony, aid us in clinging to the hope we find in you and the faith in your Son that undergirds us. Amen.

Kachael J was a voracious reader growing up, and she enjoys exploring new worlds through literature. A researcher by training and a worshiper at heart, she desires to see people and communities raised, repaired, and restored by the power of the Holy Spirit and preaching of the gospel. Using one of her hobbies, video editing, Kachael creates videos to encourage and help others in their faith walk. The daughter of a United Methodist ordained elder and a native of Atlanta, Georgia, she currently resides in the Atlanta Metro area and works in commercial real estate.

Kaleb Oates, a native of Detroit, is a dynamic orator, educator, and musician. He currently serves as the music director of the historic Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. A proud graduate of Howard University, Kaleb is currently pursuing graduate studies at American University. An impassioned teacher, Kaleb enjoys reading, laughing, cooking, and traveling.

Rev. Lindsey Baynham is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church currently serving as the Director of Clergy Excellence in the Virginia Annual Conference. This proud alumna of Randolph-Macon College and Duke Divinity School has a passion for worship design, preaching and teaching, laughter over a meal with friends, and connecting folks.