When You Do Not Know What to Do

God Who Sees Clearly,

I do not always know what to do.

Sometimes the choices are complicated.The consequences are difficult to predict.The information I have does not point toward an obvious answer.

I search for clarity, but every possible direction seems to carry both promise and risk.

King Jehoshaphat did not hide his uncertainty from You. Faced with a threat he could not overcome, he prayed, “We do not know what to do.”

Then he spoke of עַיִן (ayin).

The eye.The place of attention.The direction toward which a person looks.

His confusion did not leave him without a posture. He could not yet see the answer, but he could choose where to direct his attention.

Teach me to do the same.

When I do not know what to do, keep me from pretending.

Free me from the belief that faith must always sound certain.

You are not threatened by my questions. You do not withdraw because I cannot make sense of what is happening.

Help me resist the urge to choose something quickly simply to escape the discomfort of not knowing.

Turn my eyes toward You.

Not as a way of avoiding the facts, but as a way of seeing them from within Your presence.

Remind me of who You are before I decide what this moment means.

You are wise when I am confused.You are steady when my thoughts are scattered.You are present before the direction becomes clear.

I do not know what to do.

But my eyes are on You.

Let that be my first faithful response.

Amen.