A Prayer for Loneliness Working from Home

Father, I have spoken more words to my screen today than to a single human being. The four walls have memorized me. My voice came out cracked when I finally answered the phone, unused since morning.

I confess the isolation has crept up slowly, a skipped errand here, a declined invitation there, until the days blur and I cannot remember the last real conversation that was not about work.

So I bring You this quiet apartment and the ache hidden inside the convenience. You walked dusty roads shoulder to shoulder with friends. You know that people were made to be among people.

Pull me out of the loop of solitude. Nudge me toward a coffee shop, a phone call, a face. Remind me that I am part of a body, not a lone hand, for we are all members of one another and meant to be joined.

I lay down the slow drift into isolation. You are with me in this room, and You are also out there in the world calling me back into it. Tomorrow I will answer. Tonight, I am not as alone as it feels. Amen.