Prayer for women in the midst of patriarchal societies and systems

Dear God,

In the midst of many bad things in life, there are also good things, and we know these all come from your hand. So we give thanks and honor to you. As your word says, if we are in you, you are also in us.

We ask your forgiveness because of the outcomes of patriarchy. We have experienced the silence, we have been silent, and we have been silenced. We have suffered and we haven’t been held in love for so long.

We ask you to intervene and deliver us from this suffering—when we are shamed and feel shame; when we are not believed and when we doubt ourselves; and when we believe the toxic teaching that this is simply the way the world is.

Even the church has been silent and silenced by cultural influences.

Sometimes even the Bible has been used to silence us. God, we know that this is not what you desire, because you created us all in your image.

We have been victimized and grievously mistreated.

And yet we know that it is you who have the power to change this situation and, through your Spirit, to transform the minds and break the hearts of people—even pastors—and the whole church and everyone in authority, so that all can live abundantly in freedom.

We believe in your power to change this situation. God, use us and equip us to be the voice of the voiceless and to not be silent. For we know, dear God, that your ears are not deaf nor your eyes blind.

Save us! Deliver us from this trauma!

We praise your name, and thank you for the privilege of being your children.

In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen!

Written by Bachelor’s and Master’s students in the Faculty of Theology From Tanzania, Kenya, and Malawi Tumaini University Makumira Usa River-Arusha, Tanzania