Prayer for All God's Children

This past Sunday Sandi DeFeo shared her Prayer for All God's Children. With her permission I'm sharing it here on the blog.

O Gracious God, creator of us all;
We pray for the children
Who sneak Popsicles before supper
Who can never find their shoes
Who make ugly faces when Dad video’s the family
Who leave the toothpaste lid off

And we pray for the children
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire
Who can’t run down the street in a pair of new sneakers
Who are born in places where we wouldn’t be caught dead
Who have never gone to the circus

We pray for the children
Who bring us sticky kisses and handfuls of dandelions
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money
Who spend their allowance before Tuesday
And shove dirty clothes under the bed

And we pray for the children
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them
Who watch their parents watch them die
Who can’t find any bread to steal
Whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser
Whose monsters are real.

We pray for the children
Who call out our name in the night for a glass of water
Who never rinse out the bathtub
Who get visits from the tooth fairy
Who squirm in church and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for the children
Who want to be carried and for those that must be
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep
Who don’t get a second chance
Whose nightmares come in the daytime.

We pray for the children
Who will carry on our legacy
Who will walk in our footsteps
Who will walk beside us and cause us to be proud

And we pray for the children
Who have cigarette burns and bruises
Who want to speak our name but can’t
Who will never walk, who carry the tag of handicapped with them
Whose eyes we look into and see the face of Jesus

We pray for your children Lord. 

Who are all created equal and created in Your image.
Who are created unique and special all by Your hands.
May we humble ourselves and always nurture the children.

And all the people said………………Amen.