Creator God, by your word and in your power, you have created us and our world. As we learn more of you, so we come to realize how powerful is your word.
In your company I’ll go
where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
in you and you in me. (John L. Bell & Graham Maule)
We hear that more than 400 extra-Solar-system worlds have been discovered and a new mission to colonize Mars is launched. We marvel at the discoveries of science, yet fail to wonder at our discoveries of your revealed self. May your footsteps show.
We rejoice at the news that Syria chemical weapons facilities are reported ‘destroyed.’ We pray for those who continue to suffer the effects of their use. We pray for the chemists and producers involved in the manufacture, that their enterprise may be towards a more humane use for their creativity. May your footsteps show.
We mourn with those who have found the bodies of migrants in the Niger desert, apparently having died of thirst following a vehicle breakdown. We mourn with those who many never know what happened to their families and friends. We pray for those involved in trafficking, that they may cease their exploitation and find the vision to truly help those looking for a new life. May your footsteps show.
As the Ngok Dinka tribe chooses to join South Sudan in an unofficial referendum, we pray that their vision for a better way of life will be a source of strength for themselves and others in the trouble-torn area of Africa. May your footsteps show.
When we read that, according to a report for the UN, oil-rich Azerbaijan has one of the world’s worst records in sex-selective abortions, we pray for those forced to lose their children, family security and even their lives. We pray too for the doctors and nurses not able to save and having to destroy and kill. We pray for those who invented medical implements to enable potentially life-saving in-utero operations now seeing their means of health becoming a means of death. May your footsteps show.
We rejoice when we hear of the village of Dharhara in eastern India, where fathers plant fruit trees every time a daughter is born, for a secure financial future, by providing fruit to sell to pay for education, wood to sell to provide a dowry and seeds so that yet more trees may be planted for their grandchildren. We struggle, Lord, when we hear of the need for children of 12 and younger to work to provide their families food. We recognize the need for every capable person to work to provide, while recognizing the need for every child to receive an education to enable them to find their own place and purpose in your world. May your footsteps show.
We pray with those still dealing with the aftermath of the St. Jude’s storm across northern Europe, especially the ones who mourn the sudden, tragic death of those they know and love. On this anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, we pray for the many organizations involved in America and Europe, that they may learn from one another about prediction and prevention of damage and on-going repair and recovery. May your footsteps show.
Remind us that we go in your company, creator God, living, moving and growing so that we can show your glory, power and majesty to your world.
Amen.
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