Is there a Christian prayer for Freedom?

Q: Is there a Christian prayer for Freedom?

Prayer for Freedom is a Scripture-based prayer in the Passover and Seder series from Ambient Bible. For everyone who knows what it feels like to be trapped. Not just physically. The bondage of shame, of cycles, of things you can't seem to leave behind. A prayer for the freedom that starts inside.

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Passover and Seder

Prayer for Freedom

For everyone who knows what it feels like to be trapped. Not just physically. The bondage of shame, of cycles, of things you can't seem to leave behind. A prayer for the freedom that starts inside.

Scripture

Psalms 107

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¹O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

³And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

⁸Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

¹⁰Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:

¹²Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.

¹³Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

¹⁵Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

¹⁶For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

¹⁷Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.

¹⁸Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

²⁰He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

²¹Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

²²And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

²³They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

²⁴These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.

²⁵For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

²⁶They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.

²⁸Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

²⁹He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

³⁰Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

³¹Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

³²Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;

³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

³⁵He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.

³⁶And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;

³⁷And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

³⁸He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

³⁹Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

⁴⁰He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.

⁴¹Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.

⁴²The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

⁴³Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

³and gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.

⁷He led them on a straight path to reach a city where they could live.

⁸Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

⁹For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,

¹¹because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

¹²He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

¹⁶For He has broken down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

¹⁷Fools, in their rebellious ways, and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.

¹⁸They loathed all food and drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.

²⁰He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.

²¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

²²Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.

²³Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters.

²⁴They saw the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep.

²⁵For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mounted up to the heavens, then sunk to the depths; their courage melted in their anguish.

²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skill was useless.

²⁸Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.

²⁹He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰They rejoiced in the silence, and He guided them to the harbor they desired.

³¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

³²Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into deserts, springs of water into thirsty ground,

³⁴and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.

³⁵He turns a desert into pools of water and a dry land into flowing springs.

³⁶He causes the hungry to settle there, that they may establish a city in which to dwell.

³⁷They sow fields and plant vineyards that yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.

³⁹When they are decreased and humbled by oppression, evil, and sorrow,

⁴⁰He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

⁴¹But He lifts the needy from affliction and increases their families like flocks.

⁴²The upright see and rejoice, and all iniquity shuts its mouth.

⁴³Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.

Lord, tonight the world remembers the Exodus. But I'm thinking about my own. The Egypt I've been living in. The one nobody sees from the outside. The one that looks like a normal life but feels like bricks without straw.

I've been enslaved to things I chose. And things I didn't choose. Patterns I inherited. Cycles I swore I'd break and then repeated. Fears I've obeyed longer than I've obeyed you.

I don't always know what freedom looks like. I've been in this so long that the chains feel normal. The Israelites asked to go back to Egypt. After the miracles. After the sea. I used to judge them for that. I don't anymore.

But you are the God who breaks chains. Not gently. Not politely. You break them. You sent plagues when Pharaoh wouldn't listen. You split water when the army was coming. You fed people in a desert where nothing grows. And you did it not because they deserved it but because you heard them crying. And you heard me too. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and brake their bands in sunder. Brake. Past tense. Already done. Maybe the chains are already broken and I just haven't stopped holding them yet.

Lord, give me the courage to walk out. Not just to want freedom. To take it. To put my foot in the sea before it parts. Because that's how you work, isn't it? The sea doesn't part from the shore. It parts when someone steps in.

Free me from the opinion of people who don't carry my burdens. Free me from the need to control what I was never meant to manage. Free me from the version of myself that performs for approval instead of resting in yours.

Tonight is about freedom. Not just ancient freedom. Right now freedom. This breath. This choice. This step out of the house of bondage. Whatever my Egypt is, I'm leaving it at this table tonight.

In the name of the God who heard his people cry and came down, I pray.

Amen.

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