World in Prayer

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 30 January 2020

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
And thick darkness is over the peoples,
But the Lord rises upon you
And his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Isaiah 60:1-3 (NIV)

O Dayspring, O Sun of Justice, you have set our hearts ablaze with the light of your message of hope, reconciliation, and peace.  Help us to shine that light into our dark world.  Help us to look for signs of that light.

Death and the fear of death surround us as the coronavirus spreads from China and into many nations around the world.  But the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).  In Wuhan, the center of the outbreak, a restaurant owner named Li Bo spent the Lunar New Year packing boxed lunches for medical workers in the local hospital, despite his fears that his restaurant will go bankrupt due to the city shutdown.  Help us to look for the light, O God.

Anger and distrust of the “other” runs rampant in our world as populist movements grow strong and suffering people blame the most vulnerable among them for their ill fortune.  But the Lord is our light and our salvation; whom shall we fear (Psalm 27:1)?  As we recognize the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Holocaust concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland, we hear stories of hope from survivors like Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, whose musical talent helped her to survive as a prisoner and later thrive as a founding member of the English Chamber Orchestra.  Help us to remember the light, O God.

Evidence of human impact on our climate continues to grow as ‘extreme’ weather becomes the norm in countries around the world.  Emergency workers in Australia continue to battle bushfires across the country and respond to damaging hail and rainstorms in places like Canberra and Melbourne.  But God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).  People of good will across the globe continue to work for solutions, like the firm Portal Forest Estates, which has been planting trees in Ghana since 2000 to provide a balance between conservation and manufacturing for economic growth.  Help us to be the light, O God.

Jesus told us, “You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14).”  Give us hearts and minds, hands and voices, to take up that call and that promise.  Rekindle the light of hope in us.  Send us out to look for places of light, remember examples of light, and be sources of light to a dark and hurting world.

Amen.

World News This Week In Prayer – Thursday, January 23, 2020

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Dear God,

Sometimes it feels that this world is full of so much chaos that we forget to take the time to talk to you even when we try to do the work you are calling us to do. As we come to you in these moments, we ask for your presence both in our own lives and for those who feel so far from you.  We ask that you help us to spread justice in a world which is in so much need of peace.

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

God, this week in the U.S. we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a number of different ways. Some of us attended services and lectures to commemorate his life. Others read his speeches or read books to our children to remind us of the racism in our world which does not reflect the love and peace you call us to. As we leave this week behind, we ask that you help us to bring these calls to act into the rest of the year so that we might be better doers of justice in your world.

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

We ask for your presence all over China where an awful outbreak of the Coronavirus has killed your dear children. We ask for your presence there with both those suffering and those who feel trapped, knowing that they may fall ill because of this terrible illness. May the illness cease and may healing come to your children.

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

We remember this week the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. As we remember this horror, we ask that you continue to instill in us love for all people and a willingness to stand up for all of your children. We ask for your presence and your love to overshadow such immense hate and lead us into being justice doers in such a broken world.

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

We ask for your presence in Australia where the fires do not cease, and your beautiful creation continues to be destroyed. We ask that you be with your dear people who are now rendered homeless and for those who are continually hurt by the blazes. We ask that you help us to remember your dear children during this time.

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

God, there are so many things that, although may be out of mind to some of us, are very real and horrific experiences in the lives of your children. Help us to listen more and to remember to continually do justice and spread love and peace in this often broken world.

In your name we pray,
Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs. January 16, 2020

Dear Friends in Prayer,

Did you ever have one of those sleepless nights? When, after three hours of perfectly wonderful, refreshing sleep, you are suddenly awake, wide awake, for no apparent reason? And when, despite watching a couple of shows on your Kindle Fire (or whatever you resort to during wakeful hours), your mind is still filled with the fires in Australia…. the opioid crisis…  the volcanoes erupting in the Philippines and Mexico…. the families being separated at the border between the U.S. and Mexico…. the refugees being rejected from more countries than we can count…. hungry, homeless people… hard-working families, struggling to pay their monthly bills… people with pre-existing health conditions, unable to pay their medical bills… police and military people and first responders committing suicide because of what they have seen and heard and done… children living day-to-day with food insecurity… wars and threats of war in Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen and other countries… teenagers being bullied by someone who is telling them they are not enough…. people fleeing gang violence in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras… poor women seeking family planning advice and unable to find it because clinics are being closed… preschoolers with no one to read to them because everyone in their family is working so hard just to stay above water, or never had a chance to learn to read themselves… LGBTQ teens being rejected by their families for being who they are… churches whose doors are narrow and their welcome conditional…. extremist religions like the “Christian” sect in Panama that killed seven indigenous persons in a ritual intended to force them to “repent their sins”… the oceans being polluted with our discarded plastics…. the discovery that the million+ common murres (seabirds) that died between 2015 and 2016 probably were killed by a blob of hot water in the Pacific Ocean (what will global warming do to our furred and finned and feathered friends?)…. those who continue to deny climate change, in spite of the increasing evidence and the warnings of environmental scientists… the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump…. Russian President Vladimir Putin trying to wrest control from the Russian government and turn the country into a dictatorship… the 2020 elections which will determine the paths of our countries for years to come….

Did you ever have one of those nights when every attempt at prayer seems to fall on empty ears…. when God seems far away and you feel very alone? And when you utter the Serenity Prayer for the tenth time, and find that your heart and mind are settling in, and you finally feel bathed in, encompassed by God’s grace, and sleep feels possible once again?

If you have, dear friend, know you are not alone…. That the writer of this week’s prayers, and all who pray them, and many other wayfaring pilgrims have been and are with you in the darkness, holding out a trembling hand to clasp yours, and together, we’ll make it through the night, God-in-flesh for each other.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – January 9, 2020

Dear God,

While we know you hold onto us, and we know that you are there during every moment of our lives, we also live with so much fear. Fear for the planet, fear for all people around the world, fear for our friends and family, fear for the places we live, and fear for our own lives. There is so much to be afraid of and yet we still know that you are here with us. We ask for your presence to wash over us now.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for the innocent everywhere. For those who suffer in solitude we ask that you be a companion. For those who don’t know where their next meal may come from, we ask for your presence. For those whose loved ones are dying around them, we ask that you be a blanket of comfort. For those who tremble in fear that they may lose their own lives, we ask that your peace be with them.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for your dear children in Australia as wildfires consume the land, homes, wildlife, and your dear people who suffer. We pray for the fires to be extinguished so that your beautiful land may remain as beautiful as it always has, and that you may keep your dear people blanketed with safety.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We ask for your presence in Puerto Rico as an earthquake has caused two-thirds of Puerto Rico to be without electricity. As your children sit in darkness we pray for safety and for your light to shine.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God, we pray for the immense unrest in Iran as your dear people sit in fear for their lives. We ask that your peace may overshadow the violence. We pray for swift guidance of those in political power as decisions are made.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We ask that you be with all of those who lost one of their dear people as a Boeing airplane heading to Ukraine crashed in Iran killing 176 of your dear children. We ask for your presence as we sit with this tragedy. While we will never know the terror that your people felt, we ask that those who passed may rest in your love.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God, there is so much to fear in this world and we don’t always have the words to express the terror we feel. We ask that you quiet our fears in a world in which we have so much to be fearful. We are so grateful Lord for the times of peace and moments when we can celebrate your love. As many celebrated Epiphany this past week, we remember the light of the star which directed the magi. Help us to shine the light you give to each of us. May your light outshine the fears we feel and give us our ultimate strength in you.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Amen.

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 26th December 2019

As we approach the end of another year, we tend to reflect and look back over the last year or decade but unless this informs our choices and behaviours going forward it is in danger of being an empty and futile activity. So many have expressed frustration, anger or disconnectedness with the political process in so many countries for a variety of reasons but there is an upsurge in an expressed awareness of our shared humanity and planet and the need to protect this for our future survival. 

Lord God, hear us and guide us to open our hearts and minds to follow you rather than the latest demagogue or social media influencer.

In the Incarnation, you came as a helpless baby, in an occupied country, to a skilled artisan and his fiancée, not even married.  The family became refugees to save your life. No palace or big country pile, no soft, cushy number but a life of graft and community, growing and learning; but it had purpose, dignity, time spent building a relationship with you, love and service. Galilee was not a high status and sought out part of the country, but in the difficulties and challenges Jesus grew in years, knowledge and understanding. Lord, more people in the world today experience similar circumstances than the much vaunted and sought-after high income, high consumption, cushioned life of the powerful and elites. 

Lord God, forgive us when we fail to recognise and value the dignity and humanity of all who share our small planet. So easily anything could happen to any of us, if not already done so.

: those who are homeless.

: those living with physical or mental illness or addictions.

: those struggling to make ends meet and even put food on the table, clothes on their backs, heating and lighting, clean water and sanitation, education for their children, health care and safety from violence.  We name among them those in Yemen, the refugees and stateless in Europe, Mexico, the Asian sub-continent. 

: our neighbors, when often their distress is hidden behind closed doors 

: those who slip through the safety nets (where they exist) for those in need, 

: those out of work and finding jobs hard to find especially ones which provide regular  income and a sense of worth and dignity; we name those in Iraq freed from ISIS but feeling abandoned by the corruption endemic in their government systems relying on charitable micro start-ups.

: those facing economic and natural disasters. Among them those in Australia, the US, the Philippines, Greenland, Vanuatu and other low-lying countries in Micronesia.

: those suffering injustice and living in fear or war; including Chile, Yemen, Syria, and Myanmar

: the seemingly world-wide endemic of violence against women and girls: we give thanks for those highlighting this and struggling to make changes often at great personal danger and cost in India, France, Spain, and so many other countries.

: those in power who seek self-aggrandisement at the expense of belittling and dehumanising others who generally have less access to the megaphone of the media. 

  We give thanks for the courage and endurance of those politicians, lawyers, community advocates and others of faith and none shining the light of truth challenging these life-sapping deceits. We name among others those in China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela, the UK, the US, Mexico.


Lord God, we pray that the way of the Prince of Peace may prevail. This newborn babe, grew into the Servant King living daily in his actions and attitudes the equal worth and vulnerabilities of all people springing from a love for all, and all your creation. 

We give thanks for the many who share their time, energy, gifts and skills in enabling others to survive and hopefully start to achieve their God-given potential.

May the hope brought by the Incarnation inspire us. 

May the joy of the new-life witnessed by so many, give us optimism and the challenge of a new way of living the future.

In the words of one of the verses of the Austrian carol, “Still, still, still”,

“Love, love, love. No greater love than his;
While ‘Christ the Lord’ the angels name him,
We with fervent hearts acclaim him.
Love, love, love. No greater love than his.”

AMEN

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 28 November 2019

Father God, are we there yet?
We are between the last Sunday of the year and the first – are we nearly there yet?

“The days are coming” (book of Jeremiah) – are we nearly there yet?
We are between the new beginning and end of the last new beginning – are we nearly there yet?

For those who challenge us all to leave our comfort and engage, we give thanks.
We have made a start on changing our world view, making poverty history, fighting against “one answer fits all” – are we nearly there yet?

When the emergency service personnel brave floods and wonder if it will stop raining – are we nearly there yet?  We pray with the people of  Cote d’azur, France and Savonna, Italy

When the firefighters brave the flames and wonder if it will stop burning – are we nearly there yet?
We pray with the people of New South Wales, Australia and Santa Barbara, California.

When the rescuers brave the aftershocks and struggle to reach trapped people – are we nearly there yet?
We pray with the people of Albania.

When there is lack of equality and justice for all, intensify out desire to support those who are blocked from their established way – are we nearly there yet?   We pray with the Uighar people; with those caught in the tension across the Uganda / Rwanda border.

Child-like we want the journey to be over, to get to the exciting bit at the end, asking are we nearly there yet?   This time of Thanksgiving in the USA reminds us of all those, down the years who have made a journey and gave thanks when it was over.   For those brave enough to set out on the search for new lands, new places, new cultures, we give thanks.   For those who help, rescue and introduce them to the new, we give thanks.    We pray with those whose travel plans for thanksgiving have been disrupted by winter storms.

Father, there are many things for which we give thanks, but most of all we give thanks for the privilege of talking to you in prayer and for your patience as we demand that world is set right immediately “are we nearly there, yet?”

Patient God, supporting brother, mothering spirit, these and many more are our prayers, all praise and thanks for hearing, receiving and answering.  Amen

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 21 November 2019

Ever-present God,
as we come to the end of another liturgical year,
we remember and celebrate the present and coming kingship of Christ.

We anticipate the coming day
when the prophetic words of scripture are fulfilled
and we work, diligently,
to co-create a world where all people are loved and respected.

Yet, we are perplexed by the struggles,
the incongruity, the brokenness,
which is so virulent and rampant in the world.

It seems the stories of pain, violence, and despair
extend from the walls of our own homes
and into every corner of the world.

Our hearts break at the news of yet more shootings in the United States
in Santa Clarita, Fresno, Duncan, and other towns.

We are shocked to hear of 25 people discovered hidden on a ferry bound for the United Kingdom.

We are saddened to hear of the death of Boglaetch Gebre,
a renowned Ethiopian Women’s Rights Activist
who sought to end the practice of genital mutilation.

Our breath catches in our throats at the news
of the highest deforestation rate in a decade in the Amazon
with an increase of 29.5% over last year.

Uncertainty swirls in the aftermath
of protests-turned-violent in China at
Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Fear rises with the death toll in Bolivia
following a contested election in October.

And many more personal griefs and fears:
friends undergoing amputations and broken limbs,
neighbors facing financial and legal trouble,
colleagues who do not see a way to retire with grace.

The fear, grief, and pain can feel insurmountable.

Yet, if we have the eyes to see
and the ears to hear,
there is hope on the horizon.

Infants are welcomed into the world,
bringing hope and change.

US citizen Kevin King and Australian citizen Timothy Weeks
were released by the Taliban after being held for three years.

France returned the sword of Omar Saidou Tall,
a west African ruler who led an anti-colonial struggle against the French in the 1850s,
to Senegal’s President Macky Sall.

Open our eyes,
Ruler of All,
so that we might see and sense your presence,
in the midst of grief and pain,
AND in the middle of joy and celebration.

Empower us,
Holy One,
to work for the wholeness and healing you promise,
as we proclaim the reign
of your son and our savior,
Jesus Christ.

In whose name we pray,
Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 13 November, 2019

Great justice-seeker of the universe,

You know that we live in a great and awful time. You have opened our minds to the secrets of nature, but record flooding in Venice, Italy, and raging fires from the United States to Australia, give us reason to pause about having the power of sub-atomic particles placed into our human hands. Through the marvels of medicine our corporeal bodies have extended in longevity, yet, Ebola continues to have tragic effects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in the western part of Africa. As generations before us pled for your mercy, so we today entreat your goodness. We pray to hold our wealth lightly and to tread modestly as we inhabit the earth’s surface.

Give to our leaders a wisdom and love of creation and a zeal for peace amongst the citizens of your planet:

  • with Jeanine Áñez as she takes office in Bolivia;
  • with the United States House of Representatives as they continue impeachment hearings on President Trump;
  • with those still engaged in political struggle and protests in Hong Kong;
  • with those fighting for their beliefs in a recent ramp-up of violence in Israel and Gaza.

Replace our greed with a gracious sharing of our abundance. We pray for healers and those who preserve life and seek peaceful ways forward instead of resorting to violence and fighting and destructive practices. May our longer lives prove to bring a greater sense of our saving love and may we be a blessing with the many years we have added that many of our great-great-great-ancestors did not. As in Jesus you came to show your love for the world, so through Jesus we pray that the world you love may be preserved and made better and safer and braver for future generations. May it be so. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., October 17, 2019

Be gentle with us, O Lover of Souls.
Be gentle with us, for surely in this fractured and fracturing world,
that above all is what we need:
To (re)learn to be gentle with ourselves.
To be gentle with each other.
To be gentle with our planet.

Be gentle with those – especially with those – who don’t seem to have a gentle bone in their bodies.
Be gentle with the United States, for abandoning their Kurdish allies; with the Turkish forces attacking the Kurds; with the country of Syria in the middle.
Be gentle with the owners of the Bangladesh clothing factory under investigation for abusing their workers.
Be gentle with the leaders of Venezuela, which just won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, despite their country’s own horrendous human rights violations.

Be gentle with those whom we cannot forgive.
Be gentle with the South Korean mastermind of the massive “dark web” child pornography marketplace who was arrested this week, along with 337 users of the site from 11 countries.
Be gentle with all who bully and abuse and terrorize, in the schoolyards, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our world.

Gentle them, Beloved, as you would gentle a wild horse.
As you would coax love from the strong muscles and striking hooves of the fearful and ranging stallion.

Be gentle with all who hurt, or weep, or mourn, or fear.
Be gentle with the survivors of Typhoon Hagibis in Japan.
Be gentle with those searching for survivors in the collapsed apartment building in Brazil.
Be gentle with the tens of thousands of migrants applying for asylum in Mexico, now that it appears that the U.S. will no longer be a possible place of refuge for them.

Wrap them in the tenderest love, Beloved, as you would a flurry of newborn kittens.
As you would make a nest of the softest blankets, in which to grow and heal and thrive.

Be gentle with our fragile Earth.
Be gentle with the students in Gambia protesting climate change, because one day, “my city Banjul could end up under water.”
Be gentle with Lebanon, facing the worst wildfires in decades.
Be gentle with Australia, where a growing drought is stirred up a dust storm so thick that day seemed to turn to night.
Be gentle with the lives we have built, with the lives we do not know how to sustain.

Help us to walk gently in our lands, in our lives.
As gently as a drop of dew on a morning flower.

Be gentle with us, O Lover of Souls.
But, oh, we do not need to ask.
For you are our Gentleness and our Beloved.

Amen.

 

 

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.
~ John L Bell and Graham Maule*

When nations are being riven by fear, lies, lack of trust in political, business
and so many seeming to seek leadership positions for their own aggrandisement rather than the common good:

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away, so justice and truth prevails.

When all efforts have been made to cope with natural disasters:

  • Hurricane Dorian, devastating the Bahamas and threatening east coast states of the USA;
  • Severe ice cap melting in Greenland, the Antarctic and Arctic – threatening low lying communities and countries throughout the world;
  • Bird migrants arriving at their usual time in northern countries (e.g. the UK and Scandinavia) to find food sources already flowered and unavailable due to climate change

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.

When people are exhausted from the struggles against injustice and terror:

  • 1.9 million people facing losing their citizenship in Assam, India; 
  • Those detained, disappeared or tortured in Kashmir;
  • Starvation, violence, lack of medical care and hopelessness experienced by millions in Yemen, and in stateless camps throughout the Middle East, Libya, Sudan and so many other countries;
  • The fear of so many in Afghanistan where the  US -Taliban deal does nothing to stop bombings and the use of children as suicide bombers;
  • Increased xenophobic riots in South Africa leading to deaths, injuries and boycotts;
  • Thousands of economically disadvantaged groups left without education or medical care after Christian and Muslim schools and health centers were seized by the government in Eritrea;
  • The desperate and often life-threatening experience of refugees in the US, Mexico, Sweden, the European Union, Canada, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Australia and so many other countries

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.

When people seek to care for their fellow human beings in need:

  • Over 1,000 people in the Central African Republic have become foster parents, like Henriette and Jean-Philippe Idjara. Despite having 4 children, and having lost 5 others through illness, they adopted 2 teenage boys who had seen their father executed by rebels. Alone and in fear of their lives, the boys had fled and walked 150 miles in a week, before being found exhausted and rescued by the Idjaras.
  • We give thanks for all who open their hearts and homes to brothers and sisters in need of any sort, without checking their balance sheet first.  Help us to dare to trust in You, our shield and our defender.
  • We give thanks and remember all who act as carers (paid or unpaid), ambulance workers, medical staff, police, firefighters, military personnel, ministers and priests of all faiths, and those who keep our communities clean and safe with often little thanks. We pray for their protection and support, praying especially for their mental health dealing with the sights and situations we so often prefer not to see..  Throughout the world, the silent loss of way too many of those helpers of us all, their high rates of suicide and mental and physical illness from so much stress, is a scandal and source of shame..

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away. Bless and strengthen them by your loving spirit and help us provide them with the care and support they need.

When families are changing, new life is being formed and others prepare to leave this earthly life:

Give us all a sense of thankfulness and proportion as to what is real or imaginary;
help us nurture truth rather than deceit;
humility rather than hubris;
tenderness, love and compassion rather than aggression, hatred and division.

Despite all we like to think, we are not in charge. You are.

O God, save us from ourselves, from double standards and divided hearts, and give us light and life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

               

*©1987: Heaven Shall Not Wait, WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland