Prayer for Those Standing at the Water’s Edge

(for the weary, the watchers, the ones called Beloved)

Bless us as we step in.

O Voice that thunders over the waters,
O Spirit still hovering over chaos,
bless us as we step in.
Bless us when the world turns cold
and the water bites with truth.
Wrap us in whispered delight,

In the hush that happens,

just before joy rises.

Bless us as we step in.

Where wonder waits

between breath and belonging.

We are going under—in your name.
Name us again as Beloved,
not because we earned it,
but because you never stopped
saying it.

We are going under, falling in love.
Let your Spirit fall like a dove,
and rise in us like flame from the holy deep—
not to consume,
but to clarify.
To turn our longing for the holy into gold.
To light the Holy Dark with a starlit way.

Bless us.
We are going under—Holy One, are you there?

Baptize us in justice—cold as the river, clear as sky.
Baptize us in memory—stories we carry like stones in our palms.
Baptize us in joy that defies empire,
in laughter that cracks the walls with a shout.
HOLY HOLY HOLY.

Holy is this “I AM—.”

“This I am, Beloved.”

And when the world tries to name us
anything less than Beloved—
remind us.

HOLY HOLY HOLY.

Remind us of the Voice we heard
when our skin still shimmered with the river:
“This is my child.
With you, I am well pleased.”

Even the sky watches—we rise!

Bless us as we rise,
gasping,
dripping with your name.

Bless us with courage
to go home by another way.
Bless us with tenderness
to make music in the heart.
Bless us with boldness
to become the tear in the veil—
a light for the nations.

Blessed are the ones who rise—
not to escape the water—
but to walk with others through it.

Amen.
And may we rise.

We are weary,
but we’ve been waiting.

Bless us when the journey is long
and our feet want rest.
Let us hear again
the Voice over the waters—
the whisper still hovering over chaos—
saying:

“Step in. I am here.
You are Beloved.
Walk on.
Walk on.
Walk on.
I love you.”