Weekly Prayers

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., January 24, 2019

Heavenly Father, we find ourselves in abundance. We feel great sadness but also great love in our world. We worry about those who feel forgotten; we worry about the people who tell stories of persecution because their difference is seen as criminal. We turn to you, Holy Creator, to free us from worry and to bless our hurting neighbors with abundant kindness.

We pray for the political leadership in the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. May their citizens may be led out of turmoil and towards harmony.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for those who are at the beginning: those who are starting new jobs, those who are moving, and those who are welcoming new children.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for the unemployed and the unpaid.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for families: couples who are marrying, women who are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, couples who are divorcing, the caregivers, and the ones needing care.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for all who work for justice and for all who seek the truth.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for the people improving our communities: the blood, bone marrow, and organ donors; the educators; the volunteers; and the funders.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for the people who feed us: the hands in the fields and on the farms, the hands that package and test foods, and the hands that cook meals.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for those working in health care and for those in their care, for the hungry and the obese, for the disabled, and for those who are healing.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for all people making difficult choices.
Bless them, O Lord.

We pray for those who are at the end: the coming home, the graduating, the retiring, the grieving, and the dying.
Bless them, O Lord.

We thank you for the abundance of grace you give to each of us so that we may give grace to the world.
Bless us, O Lord. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, January 17, 2019

As the words of the Spirit echo in our ears,
“You are my child, my beloved.”
“You bring me delight and joy.”

The news of the week shakes us back to reality,
the world is not as it could be,
the heavenly kingdom struggles to break forth.

Grant us courage in the face of our challenges, Ever-present God.
Help us to mount up with the wings of eagles.
Sustain us, that we may run without wearying.

Show us how to support our neighbors impacted by the government shutdown in the United States,
many of whom are required to work, without receiving their pay.
As the days drag on, and the bills mount, guide us to open our hearts, and hands to support one another.

Be present, Giver of Comfort, with the families of those killed in the siege in Nairobi, Kenya.
Bring peace in the lives of those impacted by the attack, and those who responded to give aid.
Work in all of our hearts to bring about a more peaceful world, we pray.

We pray for leadership in Parliament in the United Kingdom,
as confidence is shaken, and the way forward is uncertain.
May your spirit guide decision-making for the good of all people.

Send your spirit, like a dove, to descend on all who are anxious, we pray:
our neighbors in Mexico struggling with shortages of gasoline,
our neighbors in Australia where nearly 40 suspicious packages have been sent to consulates and embassies,
our neighbors struggling in their relationships,
our neighbors suffering with cancer, diabetes, and a myriad of other illnesses.
our neighbors who are worried, depressed, alone…

Guide us, Holy One, to open our eyes and see the joys in life as well:
Where new love blossoms and steadfast love gives hope,
Where new jobs bring excitement, and long-standing employment brings fulfillment,
Where change brings new opportunities, and tradition brings stability…

Open our eyes
to acknowledge the shadows of life
even as we celebrate rays of hope and healing.

Speak to us again, so that we may remember,
We are your children,
We are your beloved.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, January 10, 2019

And a voice came from above, “You are my beloved child; I love you.” – Luke 3:22

Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit, marked with the sign of Christ our king:
Born of the Spirit, we are God’s children; joyfully now God’s praise we sing.
Michael Saward, tune: BUNESSAN

Holy One, you who love us beyond measure, you who regard each of us as your own beloved child, we come to you thirsty for the Good News; thirsty for forgiveness, thirsty for justice, thirsty for healing for this earth and all its peoples. Open our eyes, minds, and hearts to the realities of the world in which we live, that we might be filled with your compassion for all those who are in need or in pain, those who are lonely or in danger, those who are without a voice, and those for whom daily living is a trial beyond belief.
Hear us, Gracious God; your mercy is great.

We pray for all those for whom home has become a dangerous place: for the refugees fleeing to the United States from Central America; for Rahaf Al-Qunun, a young Saudi woman who has been granted refugee status by the United Nations and is being welcomed by Australia; for people from South Sudan, Yemen, and Syria who have been forced to flee home for their very lives. May they find a home in your compassionate love, and may we do our best to provide that love in our own lives and neighborhoods.
Hear us, Loving God; your mercy is great.

We pray for all those for whom justice has become a fleeting dream: for the people of the DR Congo, where the presidential election is still in dispute; for Nazanin Zafhari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian citizen who has been held in an Iranian prison for 1000 days and is being denied medical care; for the countless numbers at the southern border of the United States who long to have their requests for asylum heard; for those caught up in the United States criminal justice system for minor crimes and misdemeanors. Grant us courage to speak up and speak out when we see such injustices; grant us the awareness to see these people as our sisters and brothers, your own beloved children.
Hear us, Just God; your mercy is great.

We pray for those for whom freedom of speech is at risk, especially for the people of Venezuela and Guatemala. When they need someone to speak for them, let us not turn away but speak out in ways that are both daring and healing, that the leaders may know that their citizens have sisters and brothers in other places who care deeply.
Hear us, Courageous God; your mercy is great.

We pray, with thanksgiving, for the ways in which the schools of Capetown, South Africa, are making welcoming accommodations for transgender students, letting them know that they are of value, telling them with actions that they are God’s beloved children. Open our hearts to reach out to those in our own countries, in our own neighborhoods, in our own families, who need our hospitality and our acceptance, even as we need yours.
Hear us, Welcoming God; your mercy is great.

All of this we pray in the name of the One who Loves, the One who Comes, the One who calls us each sister or brother. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, January 3, 2019

Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31

Heavenly God,

How can we ever thank you? How can we thank you for another year of life. Another year of blessings. Another year of your presence in our lives, whether we choose to hold on to you or not. Here we stand, Lord, at the beginning of a new year of life remembering this past year and thinking ahead to the next. While there is so much to consider, worry and look forward to in the next year, there is still so much to remember from the last. Help us, God, to gives thanks for the good and send us comfort for all the things which brought your people hurt, distress, and sadness in the last.

Lord in your mercy; renew our sense of gratitude.

Lord, we lift up all who have struggled this past year, in particular those who have been left behind after their dear ones have gone to be with you in their new heavenly homes. We lift up the many who have and continue to suffer and die in Yemen. We lift up your children in all war-torn places who continue to suffer due to conflicts, wars, and crises which cover so many places and yet about which little is known in other parts of the world. We ask that you walk alongside your dear children. May your strength wash over them as a blanket of healing.

Lord in your mercy; renew our strength.

While this next year may bring pain and heartache to some of your children, may we find hope in knowing that you will always walk with us regardless of what may happen. We ask that you be with the many families who are still separated from their little children at Mexico’s border. While so many of us will never understand this kind of separation, we know that your presence is so necessary for your terrified children and their devastated parents.

Lord in your mercy; renew our hope.

As we reflect on this past year, we remember all those who will no longer be a part of our lives in the coming days and months. We already know that our lives will not be the same without them, and yet we know that their memories will live on with us even though their presence feels so far from us. We particularly pray for the many who have died and the many still missing because of the volcano eruption and landslides in Indonesia. May you bring solace to those overcome with worry because of their still missing loved ones.

Lord in your mercy; renew our memories.

God, while it may seem that this year will be the same as the last, help us to cling to you and have the courage to share your hope and divine love with everyone we meet as we re-imagine our lives as not only our own, but as your own blessed children. For this and for your hope, we give thanks. May you continually nurture our voices that we might share your love with all. Hear these words, Lord, that we might continually draw near to you.

Lord in your mercy; renew your people.

Amen.

World in Prayer – Christmas 2018

Love.

Love, said poet Christina Rossetti, “Love came down at Christmas.”

Love spoke to Mary in the voice of the angel Gabriel. Love said: “Fear not.”

Fear not, when you have seen a vision of hope and glory, healing and joy that transcends the universe. Fear not when you are called to be the bearer of wonder and awe. Fear not when you foresee that your path lies through sorrow. Fear not when your very existence will challenges the status quo.

Love spoke then, and speaks to us now: Fear not!

Love spoke to Jesus. In the breath of oxen and ass, Love said: “You will never be alone. You are loved.”

You are loved, you who are vulnerable. You are loved, you who are lost. You are loved, you who are lonely. You are loved, you who are in pain. You are loved, you who will do great things, and you who do not know what to do.

Love breaths on us now: You are wrapped in Love.

Love spoke to the world in the gleam of a star. Love said: “Come.”

Come, you who are wise, and you who are simple. Come, you who seek, and you who think you know. Come, you who want to learn, and you who will tell the tale. Come meet that which is all new, and yet holds the wisdom of the ages.

Love shines on us now: Take the risk. Come!

Love spoke to Herod, in the visit of the wise men. Love said: “It is not too late. It is never too late. Choose Love.”

It is not too late, it is never too late. Not even for tyrants or terrorists, not for bullies or thieves, not for the power-hungry or the wealth-hoarders. It is not too late for you to become more than you ever thought you could be. It is not to late for you to become Love.

Love visits us now: Choose Love!

And this is the prayer of God, for all the peoples of God:
Be Blessed, for you are the Blessing.
Be Love, for you are the receivers of Love.
Be Peace.
Be Light.
Be Life.
You are Love.

As is our custom every year at Christmas, we offer our love, prayers and blessings for every person, tree, shrub, mountain, stream and living creature in every nation on earth:

Afghanistan … Albania … Algeria … American Samoa … Andorra … Angola … Anguilla … Antarctica … Antigua and Barbuda … Argentina … Armenia … Aruba … Australia … Austria … Azerbaijan … Bahamas … Bahrain … Bangladesh … Barbados … Belarus … Belgium … Belize … Benin … Bermuda … Bhutan … Bolivia … Bosnia and Herzegovina … Botswana … Brazil … Brunei Darussalam … Bulgaria … Burkina Faso … Burundi … Cambodia … Cameroon … Canada … Cape Verde … Cayman Islands … Central African Republic … Chad … Chile … China … Christmas Island … Cocos (Keeling) Islands … Colombia … Comoros … Congo, Republic of (Brazzaville) … Cook Islands … Costa Rica … Côte D’ivoire (Ivory Coast) … Croatia … Cuba … Cyprus … Czech Republic … Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) … Denmark … Djibouti … Dominica … Dominican Republic … East Timor (Timor-Leste) … Ecuador … Egypt … El Salvador … English Name … English Name … English Name … English Name … Equatorial Guinea … Eritrea … Estonia … Ethiopia … Falkland Islands … Faroe Islands … Fiji … Finland … France … French Guiana … French Polynesia … French Southern Territories … Gabon … Gambia … Georgia … Germany … Ghana … Gibraltar … Great Britain … Greece … Greenland … Grenada … Guadeloupe … Guam … Guatemala … Guinea … Guinea-Bissau … Guyana … Haiti … Holy See … Honduras … Hong Kong … Hungary … Iceland … India … Indonesia … Iran (Islamic Republic of) … Iraq … Ireland … Israel … Italy … Ivory Coast … Jamaica … Japan … Jordan … Kazakhstan … Kenya … Kiribati … Korea, Democratic People’s Rep. (North Korea) … Korea, Republic of (South Korea) … Kosovo … Kuwait … Kyrgyzstan … Lao, People’s Democratic Republic … Latvia … Lebanon … Lesotho … Liberia … Libya … Liechtenstein … Lithuania … Luxembourg … Macau … Macedonia, Rep. of … Madagascar … Malawi … Malaysia … Maldives … Mali … Malta … Marshall Islands … Martinique … Mauritania … Mauritius … Mayotte … Mexico … Micronesia, Federal States of … Moldova, Republic of … Monaco … Mongolia … Montenegro … Montserrat … Morocco … Mozambique … Myanmar, Burma … Namibia … Nauru … Nepal … Netherlands … Netherlands Antilles … New Caledonia … New Zealand … Nicaragua … Niger … Nigeria … Niue … Northern Mariana Islands … Norway … Oman … Pakistan … Palau … Palestinian territories … Panama … Papua New Guinea … Paraguay … Peru … Philippines … Pitcairn Island … Poland … Portugal … Puerto Rico … Qatar … Reunion Island … Romania … Russian Federation … Rwanda … Saint Kitts and Nevis … Saint Lucia … Saint Vincent and the Grenadines … Samoa … San Marino … Sao Tome and Principe … Saudi Arabia … Senegal … Serbia … Seychelles … Sierra Leone … Singapore … Slovakia (Slovak Republic) … Slovenia … Solomon Islands … Somalia … South Africa … South Sudan … Spain … Sri Lanka … Sudan … Suriname … Swaziland … Sweden … Switzerland … Syria, Syrian Arab Republic … Taiwan (Republic of China) … Tajikistan … Tanzania; officially the United Republic of Tanzania … Thailand … Tibet … Timor-Leste (East Timor) … Togo … Tokelau … Tonga … Trinidad and Tobago … Tunisia … Turkey … Turkmenistan … Turks and Caicos Islands … Tuvalu … Uganda … Ukraine … United Arab Emirates … United Kingdom … United States … Uruguay … Uzbekistan … Vanuatu … Vatican City State (Holy See) … Venezuela … Vietnam … Virgin Islands (British) … Virgin Islands (U.S.) … Wallis and Futuna Islands … Western Sahara … Yemen … Zambia … Zimbabwe

Be Peace.
Be Light.
Be Life.
You are Love.

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, December 20, 2018

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61:1,2

Oh Lord,

We pray for those who are silenced because of oppression, whose words no one hears. You brought your Christ light to the world. Help us to remember, to know and live in this great love. Help us to spread the Good News.

You hear the sobbing and quaking fear of a child. You see the tears and hear the weeping of parents as families are torn apart. You hear the cries of children isolated for days, weeks, and months from their families. We call, we pray for the release of the over 140 children still separated from their families because of U.S. policy. They are not forgotten. How many more hunger at borders, camps and detention centers around the world? Help us to practice mercy with others, the mercy you have given us.

We pray for those who are speaking for release of the imprisoned, the captive and those suppressed. Help us to find our way in doing the same, in small acts of kindness and generous hospitality.

Help us in our silences when we can’t find the words and when we do speak, when we try to polish the words to get them just right and when we stumble and stutter and struggle to speak to you. Open our hearts that we may love with kind words, true words, thoughtful words and necessary words.

Help us to hold deeply in our hearts the truth that behind the published word there are the journalists who are working in harm’s way, taking risks as they interview those being silenced, photographing atrocities and bringing to our awareness unutterably evil deeds.

We pray for those who courageously investigate and report the news, as a tally released this week reports that 348 journalists are currently imprisoned and detained. Sixty are held hostage and eighty were killed in 2018, the highest number ever. We pray for those imprisoned and censored in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.

Comfort families in their distress. Console journalist colleagues and sustain the news bureaus as they continue to shoulder their resolve in telling the stories and reporting facts in all corners of the world, rushing again and again to each new crisis and staying as conflicts continue over decades. Help us to protect and defend these liberties.

Help us to hear one another’s words; to listen freshly, with curiosity, and to absorb what friends, family and strangers have to say. Calm our ever-present ability to deny, interrupt and discount. Restore our sight to see Christ in the other.

We pray to grow in tolerance and kindness.

All this we ask in your name, in this season of Advent as the world swirls around us..

May your Peace and your Good News be received on this earth.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, December 13, 2018

“For unto us a child is born…
and the government shall be upon his shoulders.”
(Isaiah 9:6)

God, it’s hard to be a citizen.

At each stage of creation, you looked and said, “it is good”. You established The Promised Land as a place to live out your covenant, that you will be our God and we will be faithful as your people. Your prophets preached an ever-more enlightened governance, yearning for righteousness among kings and merchants and citizens. Then you gave us Jesus, born to us as a child but with promise of government upon his shoulders.

We give to Jesus the language of leadership: Lord, Almighty, Prince. But we keep him at arm’s length from decision-making in village, town, city, and nation. We have not learned how to lean on his shoulders and depend on his governance without causing harm, suspicion, and fear. We have abused the power that came with faith, corrupting both. We are still learning to render what is Yours, and what is Caesar’s.

Yes, you are the God of every citizen, however free. You have taught us that nothing separates us from you, no form of principality comes between us. It is with such hope that we pray.

And so, in these very days we remember efforts to suppress voting, to manipulate modern technology for political gain, to divide people by fear, to prefer identity over unity, to upend basic democracy and simple freedom.

And we remember with joy the raised purple fingers and “We Voted” stickers that grew in number, the people who overcame long lines and intimidation and threat to vote, the candidates who stepped forward with zeal in order to serve, the voters who set aside ancient prejudices to vote their hopes.

Lord God, this prayer is for every village, town, city, and nation; for every kind of governance; for every citizen. One day, may You look at us again and say, “it is good.”

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 6 December 2018

A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-5 (NRSV)

As we journey deeper and deeper into Advent, O God,
we find it harder and harder to wait.
We are impatient.
We want to experience your justice, your salvation, your love.
And waiting is so very hard.

When we look around the world we see the destruction
of earthquakes and fires,
of floods and droughts,
of terror and malice,
of apathy and greed.

Yet, at the same time there are glimmers of hope
and preludes of peace.
New life springs forth in unexpected places.
New opportunities surprise us and captivate our imagination.
Living water and the bread of life are found in the parched deserts of our lives.

Guide our hearts,
our hands,
our feet,
our voices,
our lives.

So that we may actively work toward the kingdom for which we are waiting.
A time where the promises of scripture are revealed in their fullness.
While we wait,
empower us as we labor to prepare the way,
so your glory will be revealed for all to see.

Amen

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, November 29, 2018

Holy One,

When what we have is yours and what we receive is a gift from you, we offer up our words of prayer in the knowledge that you are the Word from whom all our prayers flow. We pray with grief for the things that have broken your heart; we pray with joy for the things that have made you dance.

We pray with awareness that we cannot fix the world, but, instead, we can learn to see and taste and touch and know this world as your Creation. In this time and space, we try to take our next step of faith and in so doing, we hope to discover you.

We pray for that which fills us with grief: the devastation from wildfires in California (USA); the violence inflicted on asylum-seekers at the Mexico-United States border; the ongoing conflicts in Yemen; the cruel treatment of the Rohyinga in Myanmar; all who care for someone who struggles with addiction and mental illness; all who wait and watch and weep at the bedsides of loved ones this week.

We pray for that which fills us with fear: the unfolding havoc of climate change around the world; the flaring tensions between Ukraine and Russia; the continued fallout from the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi; the precariousness of a Brexit deal; the rise of raging, hate-filled political rhetoric in countries near and far from us.

We pray for that which gives us strength: the compassion of strangers who care for migrants in the Mediterranean and in Central America; the rise of women leaders in Ethiopia; the energy of students who fight gun violence in the United States; those who believe we belong to each other; those who live as if we belong to you.

Lord, teach us how to love what you love. Show us how to nurture what you nurture. Reveal to us how to speak your Word, today and in the days to come.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, November 22, 2018

Note: Words in italics are from Ps 8 (NRSV)

O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

As cosmologists view a “ghost galaxy” hidden in sight…
You have set your glory above the heavens.

As the UN tries to recruit more women to be Blue Helmets peacekeepers, Mali has the grim distinction of being the deadliest active peacekeeping deployment in the world…
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

As astronomers announce the discovery of a planet around our nearest neighbor star…
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;

As a U.S. federal judge blocks an order issued by President Trump to deny the possibility of asylum to migrants crossing the southern border illegally…
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

As environmentalists battle to protect the only place in the world where orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers still co-exist in the wild (the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, Indonesia) from destruction by companies producing palm oil…
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.

As spurious health claims about diseases carried on clothing are used against the providers of humanitarian aid in Mediterranean Sea…
Lord, what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

As children search for food in the rubbish of the streets of Yemen; while marine life dies as it engulfs plastic instead of food; as wildfires still smolder; as a volcano erupts in Guatemala; as Vietnam floods; as El Nino triggers severe weather in South America…
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!