With gratitude to Andrew Orr for his kind expressed permission to share this with you —-

Gracious and Almighty God,

I lift up to You a prayer for those men who suffer.

I read Your Scripture, and I see a plethora of men who suffer, who are in anguish, and who are deteriorating physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally—oftentimes in silence.

But the pleas of their souls are not silent to You. They are forced by society to exist only within the desert of their own minds so that their suffering goes unseen. Yet, it is not unseen by You. You are, after all, the God who sees even in the desert.

​This is the first day of the month, Lord, that has been set aside and dedicated to raising awareness for the mental health of all the men in our lives. Grant us—grant me—the awareness that I might recognize the mental health struggles of those men You have placed within my life.

Grant me Your eyes that I may see, and Your ears that I may hear, should there be suffering or pleas around me, so that for those men, I can be somebody who can be leaned upon, and not merely somebody who leans on them.

​Let them know that they are appreciated and that their efforts do not go unnoticed, for no man is an island.

I pray this so that through me, those men who suffer with mental health in a world that has deemed them as nothing more than a utility—a utility which is expendable—might know that they are loved by You, and that I love them, too.

​Tell them, show them that it is okay to reach out. The desert can also be a holy place to be with You.

​In the name of the Son, dear Father, I pray these things. Amen.