Elijah went into the desert a day's journey,
until he came to a broom tree and sat under it.

He prayed that he might die:
"This is enough, O Lord.
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.

Then he lay down and went
to sleep under the broom tree.
Suddenly, an angel touched him
and said to him, "Get up and eat."

He looked around and saw
a hearth cake and a jar of water by his head.
So he ate and drank
and then lay down again.
But the angel of the Lord returned,
touched him, and said, "Get up and eat,
or the journey will be too long for you."

So he got up, ate, and drank.
Fortified by that food, he then journeyed
forty days and nights
to the mountain of God, Horeb. 1 Kings 19:4- 8

O God,
today
one room, one place
has been my desert.
One day in sickness
seems a lifetime.

Like Elijah, your prophet,
I find the journey too much for me.
I want to lay my burden down.
"This is enough, O Lord!"

Send the angel of your comfort
to touch my tired spirit.
Feed me with your bread of courage,
let me drink the water of life.

Then I shall walk
where you want me to go,
and do what you want me to do,
until I reach the holy mountain
where you dwell.

Amen.

Job said:
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
that you place me under guard?

If I say, "My bed will offer me comfort,
my couch will ease my suffering,"
then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
so that I prefer suffocation and death
rather than these pains of mine.

I am wasting away: I cannot live forever.
Let me alone, for my days are but a breath.

What are human beings that you make much of them
and shower them with attention?

You examine them with each new day
and test them every moment!

Job 7:12- 18

Lord,
you know my complaints.
Like Job's they question my faith.
Have you turned from a friend to an enemy?

Where is your goodness, your justice
and your love?

I too fear the worst:
that every promised relief is false.

In my darkest moments my temptation is
to give up hope.

Give me trust in you, O Lord,
in spite of all my fears.

Let me believe you are a faithful God,
who offers me strength to carry on.

Help me in my time of testing,
and deliver me from evil.
Amen.

Job said:
Would that these words of mine
were written down!
Would that they were inscribed
on a scroll!

Would that with an iron chisel and with led
they were engraved in rock forever!

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that in the end
he will stand upon the dust.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
in my flesh I will see God.

I myself will see him,
and my own eyes,
not somebody else's, will behold him.
How my heart yearns within me!
Job 19:23- 27

O God,
through all my trials,
my fears and sufferings,
you, my Redeemer, are at my side.

I believe you are my God.
Cut deep into my soul this firm belief,
and help me hold this belief through it all.

Like Job,
I believe that I shall live,
and with my own eyes shall see life,
even if I am brought to dust.

I know my Redeemer lives;
and in my flesh
I shall see you, my God. Amen.