Psalm 102:6-7
“I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.  I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.”

Mark 1:35
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Isaiah 43:19-21
“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

Lord God who hears, we are made to call to you.

At our core we are creatures alone, inhabiting the dark and empty places.  In the hush of the long night we cry out to you.

Speak and fill the silence with your life-giving words.  Shine steadily into our darkness, and cause rivers to rush where we are parched so that our praises lift your name high in glory.

For the sake of Jesus we ask this, who remembered our names in the lonely places, and by his solitary path to the cross made a way for us in the desert.

Listen to ‘O Heart Bereaved and Lonely’ featuring Sandra McCracken