O God of All Children Please Listen to this Prayer

At a moment of unspeakable terror, horror, violence, and despair, Scripture and prayers are often the first words that rise.
I offer again a prayer to the God of all children.
O God of the children of Israel and Gaza
Of Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala
Of Syria, Nigeria, Liberia, Sudan, and South Africa
Of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Myanmar
Of Libya, Yemen, Nepal, and Kashmir
Of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of Washington, D.C. and Detroit
O God of the children of Ukraine
Of all refugee children without a country to welcome them, at sea in flimsy boats, or struggling across steaming deserts to find safety,
Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all.

O God of Black and Brown and white children and those all mixed together
Of children who are rich and poor and in between
Of children who speak Spanish and English and Swahili and Mandarin and Arabic and languages and dialects our ears cannot discern,
Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all.

O God of the child prodigy and child prostitute, the child of rapture and the child of rape
Of runaway and thrown away and sexually trafficked children who struggle every day without a parent or place or friend or future
Of LGBTQ children struggling to be who they are and children roaming across nations in search of a place called home,
Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all.

O God of children who can walk and talk and hear and see and sing and dance and jump and play and of children who wish they could but can’t
Of children who are loved and unloved, wanted and unwanted,
Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all.

O God of incarcerated, beggar, beaten, abused, neglected, and homeless children,
Of AIDS, drug, violence, and hunger ravaged children,
Of children who are emotionally and physically and mentally fragile and of children who rebel and ridicule, torment and taunt,
Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all.

O God of children of destiny and of children of despair, ravaged by wars of adults,
Of disfigured, diseased, and dying children,
Of children without hope for the future and of children with hope to spare and to share,
Help us to love and respect and protect and welcome them all as we affirm the sacredness of every child in our own country and all across our shared world.

Marian Wright Edelman is the current President of the Children’s Defense Fund.