Lord of patience,
the people grumbled in the wilderness,
their lips sour with discontent,
their hearts restless for Egypt.
They remembered the onions and fish,
but forgot the chains and whips.
How quickly we trade freedom for familiarity,
how easily we despise the manna of heaven
while craving the leeks of slavery.
O God, forgive me.
Forgive the murmurs of my heart,
the ways I diminish Your daily provision.
I complain of little things
while standing in the shadow of great mercy.
I long for comforts left behind
instead of trusting the grace that lies ahead.
Teach me to treasure Your manna,
the daily bread You give me
whether plenty or little,
whether sweet or bitter to my tongue.
For Christ Himself is my manna,
and in Him I lack nothing.
Moses felt the weight of the people’s cries,
crushed by burdens too heavy to carry.
But You, Lord, did not leave him alone.
You took of the Spirit upon him
and placed it upon seventy elders,
and they prophesied as a sign of Your presence.
You are the God who shares the load,
the God who pours out His Spirit
not on one,
but on many.
Lord, pour out Your Spirit again.
Lift the crushing weight I try to carry alone.
Surround me with brothers and sisters
to share the burden of faith,
to speak Your Word,
to remind me of Your presence.
Keep me from envy when Your Spirit rests on others.
Let me rejoice when Your power flows,
whether through me or through them,
for all is for Your glory.
You sent quail in abundance,
meat beyond measure,
yet it became judgment for the greedy,
death for those who craved without gratitude.
Father, guard me from desire without discipline.
Teach me to hunger rightly,
to long not for excess but for enough,
not for indulgence but for intimacy with You.
Let my cravings be purified
until what I want most
is the Bread of Life,
the fellowship of Christ,
the filling of the Spirit.
So, Lord,
silence my complaints,
satisfy my hunger,
strengthen my spirit.
Make me grateful for manna,
faithful under burden,
joyful when Your Spirit moves.
And let my life be marked not by murmuring,
but by prophecy
a voice of hope in the wilderness,
declaring that the Lord is near.
In the name of Jesus,
the Bread from heaven,
the Giver of the Spirit,
Amen.