A Prayer for Returning

O Lord, come home to us again. This house is empty without You. The rooms echo with restless longing, and the doors tremble in the wind of doubt. Your children call from the dust. Your sons and daughters lift weary hands. We wander through shadows not of Your making, and our hearts grow cold in the silence. The deceiver moves like a whisper in the dark, binding the weak with velvet chains, clouding truth with glittering lies, strangling hope with unseen hands. But You, O Lord, are not distant light—You are the fire that does not fade. Return to the chambers of our hearts. Break the locks we forged in fear. Breathe again upon these dry bones. Sweep clean the corners where sorrow nests. Let Your mercy rise like morning, and Your truth stand firm as mountains. Plant Your Spirit within us once more. Teach our feet the sound of Your path. Restore the laughter of the redeemed. Gather Your children from the edges of despair. O Lord, dwell not only in heaven’s height, but in the quiet rooms of our being. Make this empty house Your temple again. Let love burn in every window. And though darkness roars like a restless sea, one spark of Your presence is enough. Return, O Lord—and we shall live. Have mercy upon us. Enlighten us, O Lord, dear Lord. Please come home. Amen.