Brahm's 2nd Grace

God our provider,
We give you thanks for
the food on our table…
the hands that prepared it…
and all the gifts that come from You…
We ask you to be with
those who are hungry…
those who flee war and violence…
those who seek justice…
We pray that you help us bridge the gap between
rich and poor…
healthy and malnourished…
whole and broken…
Through our Savior Jesus Christ,
Amen.

This prayer has a three part structure.
In the first part, I acknowledge that God is our provider, and that all things come through God. For this we give thanks. I also recognize that the food that I eat comes through many hands, most of which I do not know, and I give thanks for those who take care in preparing food for others.
The second section, after recognizing that God is our provider, recognizes while this is the case, there is much brokenness and pain in the world. I ask God to be present with those who suffer and are afraid and who struggle to obtain the basic substances of life, the things we thanked God for in the first section.
The final section identifies what I believe my Christian calling is, to be a bridge to help gap the great divides that are present in this world. This is in response to what God has done for me through Christ. It invokes the essence of the Lord’s prayer, “your kingdom come on earth as in heaven.” God calls us not to be passive in waiting for the kingdom, but active in lifting up aspects of that kingdom now; things like equality, peace, justice, and wholeness.
All this is done through our Savior, for we cannot by our own abilities or understanding accomplish this on our own.
Amen