#8YearsOn #BringBackOurGirls A Multifaith Prayer

A Multifaith Prayer for Chibok – Eight Years Too Long Eight Years TOO Long! – This year the holy seasons of Passover, Easter and Ramadan all occur during the month of April – the same month that we mark 8 years of the heinous kidnapping of 276 girls from their school in Chibok Nigeria. Each of our religious traditions compel us to pray with renewed faith and to pray with our feet! And so, along with faithful action, let us pray together…. Eight Years TOO Long! In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Divine Creator of every human soul and all that is…hasten to our prayers; days turned into months, and months have turned into years. We have watched, and waited…we have seen additional abductions, innocent lives snatched, and continued unrest…we beseech you for these souls and for the rescue of the remaining 109 Chibok girls in Nigeria, now Eight years still in captivity, still enduring horrific cruelty and still enslaved by inhumane tormentors. It has been…Eight years too long. Eight Years TOO Long! Merciful God, we beg you to listen to our plea; Hear the cries of weeping mothers, fathers who are agonizing, communities that have been navigating compound grief. Hear the beat of our collective hearts that weep for our stolen daughters, our sisters who are still in captivity. It has been…Eight years too long. Eight Years TOO Long! God who redeems, restores, and returns home those who are lost and brings chained captives out of confinement. Make your presence known. Have mercy O God and stay the hand of death that lingers over them daily by their militant enslavers. It has been…Eight years too long. Eight Years TOO Long! God of hope and healing, send them courage… bring healing to their souls, minds and bodies. We continue to pray for our remaining girls to finally be returned to their families and communities who love and long for them. Help our hearts not to wane or grow callus despite the years we wait for their return…the years we wait for accountability…the years we wait for justice. It has been…Eight years too long. Eight Years TOO Long! - God who lifts and redeems, we beg of you to continue to watch over the girls who have escaped the hands of the enemy or who have been released. Send resources, medical, physical, psychological, financial and humanitarian aid. Send your loving care in abundance as they heal from the deep-rooted trauma they have survived. It has been…Eight years too long. Eight Years TOO Long! - God of justice, we pray and cry aloud because of these vicious attacks that claim lives and human dignity. Ignite the will and the work of the righteous, that we may demand justice for those who kidnapped and harmed the bodies and spirits of these girls. Move us to pray with our feet and demand of governments to bring back our girls now. It has been…Eight years too long. ------ Eight Years TOO Long! Holy One, put an end to terror, slavery, human trafficking, and exploitation of the weak. From the story of Passover to the stories in the homes and communities across the globe. Eight Years TOO Long! From Afghanistan, the Americas, South Sudan, Uganda, and Ukraine…just as in Chibok – the bodies of women and girls continue to be ravaged and used as weapons of war and violence. The global community will not be silent! Because it has been……Eight years too long. Eight Years TOO Long! God of understanding, compassion, and wisdom meet the needs of all who are suffering; You are the All-seeing One who never sleeps or slumbers, please protect the increasing number of refugees fleeing areas of conflict and unrest around the world; protect the elderly, the vulnerable, every young girl, every child, every woman, every man, all humanity, grant us your peace and hear our unending cries to BRING BACK OUR GIRLS! God, in your mercy, hear our prayer…for Eight years has been far too long.