Prayer when in Trouble, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Lilian Helen Montagu

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7 May 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags:

Jewish Women's Prayers, Distress, English vernacular prayer, teḥinot in English, desperate pleas, West Central Girls' Club, 19th century C.E., suicide prevention, תחינות teḥinot, 57th century A.M.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Prayer when in trouble.
	O Lord,— Life appears so difficult today. I cannot see clearly. The future is dark and sad. There seems little use in living. I have no pleasure. All around me is sad, and there is no sign of better times approaching. Lord save me! Let me look unto Thee for light.
	Thou hast given me strength, intelligence, and a desire to work. Give me hope as well, and courage to try to use Thy divine gifts, so that I may not be entirely crushed.
	Lord, I call upon Thee in truth and reverence. Help me, answer me, for without Thee I stagger and fall. Let me not despair. It is so difficult to pray when my soul is bowed down by grief. I long to reach Thee; I cannot; come Thou to me.
	O God! I cannot understand why all this evil should have come upon me. Let me have complete trust in Thy goodness, and I shall have peace!
	God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear! (Psalms 96:1-2)
	Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be Thou envious against the workers of iniquity. Trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. (Psalms 37:1-3)

“Prayer when in Trouble” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 28-29.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“Prayer when in Trouble, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Lilian Helen Montagu

The Hon. Lilian Helen "Lily" Montagu, CBE (22 December 1873 – 22 January 1963) was the first woman to play a major role in Progressive Judaism. Until the age of 15, she was educated at Doreck College, and privately educated thereafter. In 1893 she founded with Emily Marion Harris the West Central Jewish Girls Club (which subsequently merged into the Jewish Girls' Brigade). She was active in social improvement, particularly in respect to unemployment, sweat shops and bad housing. In 1901 and 1902, Montagu laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Jewish Religious Union in London. In February 1902 she arranged the first meeting of the Jewish Religious Union for the Advancement of Liberal Judaism at her sister Henrietta Franklin's house. The Union set up the first synagogue in Liberal Judaism in the UK and helped found the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Montagu was a founding member with her sister of the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage. She sat on the executive committee and led the meetings in prayer. Following the retirement of Leo Baeck, Montagu served for a brief stint (1955–1959) in her 80s as president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, before handing the reins over to Solomon Freehof.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17