seeking fellowship and communion in a time of loneliness

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To begin, find a space where you can be still and focus.

Then, follow the prompts below. When you reflect on scripture, feel free to look up a passage of your own or use the verses provided for you. Personalize as you will.

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Thanksgiving: Offer thanks to God. What has He provided for you today? Thank Him for the Holy Spirit, alive and at work within you.

Praise: You are the Holy God of all, and also my loving Father. I praise you for you are a good Father, a good Shepherd, and you gave your only Son so that I would never have to be separated from you and your love. I praise you, heavenly Father!

Reflect on Scripture: Psalm 25:16-18 (ESV); Lamentations 3:19-24 (ESV); Luke 5:16 (NIV); John 16:22 (ESV)

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸ Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

²² “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” 

The Lord’s Prayer: Walk through the prompts below, offering God your responses.

Help me submit to you, Father. I pray your will be done in my life and on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord, thank you for blessing those who are lonely, for remembering my hardship and not forgetting me. When I am alone, remind me to pray because you are always near. Help me rejoice in your presence, faithfulness, and mercy. In my earthly loneliness, help me find contentment and deep fellowship with you.

Remind me of others who are lonely, and bring them to my mind so that I can reach out to them in love. Give me compassion and understanding for all the ways people feel lonely in this time.

Thank you for allowing this to happen in a time where technology allows me to see others’ faces even when I am not in their physical presence.

Help me hope for the time when we will all be together eternally, one family in the kingdom of God.

Father, I miss community. These are the ways I feel lonely: _____________________________.

Thank you for the comfort of the Holy Spirit, for drawing near to me when people cannot. Help me prefer your presence to the presence of any other.  

Today, I have need. Please provide: _____________________________. Thank you for being a good Father who cares for his children and provides all they need.

I confess I am a sinner. Please forgive me for my sin of: _____________________________.

Please help me forgive those who have sinned against me. Lord, because you have forgiven me, help me forgive: _____________________________ for _____________________________. Thank you for forgiving my sins and empowering me to forgive others as you forgive me.

Thank you for delivering me from evil. Today, I ask you to deliver me from _____________________________ for you are _____________________________.

May you be glorified in my life today and forevermore.

Thank you for understanding what it is like to be lonely. Help me eagerly await the day when I will be eternally with you. Please meet me in my loneliness. Give me strength and hope, Father.

Neighbor Prayer: Spend a moment praying on behalf of any neighbors God lays on your heart.

Suggested Neighbor Prayer for: extended family and single people

Father, please be with my extended family. Provide for their need, bless them with good health, bless them with financial security, and bless them with the knowledge that they are not alone. Call them to my mind so I will call on them and pray for them often. Please heal any unresolved conflict in my family. Help us love one another well even when we can’t physically be together. Thank you for the world of technology that offers a form of connection in strange times.

Thank you, Father, for those who are single in this time, and that you knew they would be alone during days of social distancing. For those who live alone, may their souls to find deep connection with you. Help them connect safely with others. Give them hope that this time of isolation is not forever.

For singles who are found in Christ, provide comfort and companionship by the power of your Holy Spirit. Draw near to them. Help them remember they belong to your family, and that they are dearly loved and valued. Thank you for dignifying the role of single people, young and old, in your Church.

Thank you that your love is not dependent on the status of our earthly relationships, and that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus.

Say a special prayer for those who are lonely and anyone in your extended family who is not saved, that Jesus would reveal Himself to them and save them.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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In my search for a variety of worship music, here is a version of Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior sung by children. (I’m especially fond of an image of a joyful little girl holding a little lamb.)