God,
Today I pray for loners, for the lonely, for those who are alone. I pray for those who have isolated themselves from others by choice, as they miss the joy of community and relationship. I pray for those who struggle to know how to connect with others, as I can feel their frustration as they try too hard, cling too much, or push others away. I pray for those who have longed for someone with whom they can share life each day but have not found such a partner. I pray for those who are growing up without supportive family relationships, and so they feel they can count on nobody and must be strong enough to go it alone. I pray for those whose loneliness drives them to find tribes that are not healthy and are hurtful to the social world at large. I pray for those who find themselves alone in relationships that are abusive or manipulative or oppressive. I pray for those who have been shunned or hurt or pushed away or devalued by communities, even by communities of faith, and so they have wondered what kind of God would turn away from someone reaching out for love.
I just pray that everyone would find that family, that place to belong, in which it is clear that the arms of friends and brothers and sisters in Christ are tangible expressions of your arms of love. Amen.