A Sample Prayer for Compassion

The Bible tells us that being compassionate is important. Yet we all know that there are times when compassion isn't at the forefront of our priorities. However, we should never walk away from our compassion. It's part of what allows us to connect to others. Here is a prayer that asks God to make us more compassionate in our daily lives:

Lord, thank you for all you do for me. Thank you for your provisions in my life. You have given me so much that in some ways I feel spoiled by you. I feel comforted and well cared for by you. I cannot imagine my life in any other way. You have blessed me beyond what I could have imagined, in spite of me not deserving all these blessings. I thank you for that.

That is why I am on my knees before you today. Sometimes I feel like I take my privilege for granted, and I know that I need to do more for those that don't have what I have in my life. I know there are those that don't have a roof over their heads. I know that there are those seeking out jobs and live in fear of losing everything. There are poor and disabled. There are lonely people and desperate people that are all in need of my compassion.

Yet sometimes I forget about them. Lord, I come before you today to ask you for a reminder that I cannot just dismiss the poor and downtrodden of the world. You ask us to care for our fellow man. You ask that we care for widows and orphans. You tell us throughout Your Word about compassion and that there are those in such great need of our help that we should not ignore them. And yet I feel blind at times. I get so wrapped up in my own life that those people become easy to dismiss…almost invisible.

So Lord, please open my eyes. Please let me see those around me that are in need of my compassion. Compel me to listen to them, to hear their needs. Give me the heart to be interested in their troubles and provide for me the means to help them. I want to be compassionate. I want to be like you that had so much compassion for the world that you sacrificed your Son on a cross for us. I want to have that kind of heart for the world that I will do all I can to be a voice for the oppressed, a giver to the poor, and encouragement for the disabled.

And Lord, let me be the voice of reason to those around me, calling on them to show their compassion, too. Let me be an example of You to them. Let me be the light that they see so that You come through. When we see someone in need, lay that person on my heart. Open the hearts of those around me to create a better world by providing for those that cannot care for themselves.

Lord, I desire so much to be compassionate. I want to be aware of those in need. I want to have the means to help. Let me give to those who are not as privileged as I am. Give me the confidence in my actions so that I can give back. Let me be open to my imagination so that the creativity I may need can flow easily and not be suppressed by doubt. Let me be what others need, Lord. This is all I ask. Use me as a vessel of compassion to a world in need.

In your Holy Name, Amen.