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World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, April 25, 2019

Holy One,

Your Name is above all names, it is so high that we cannot attain it, yet still we seek it. And when we cannot find you, when we do not understand what is happening, when our hearts quake with fear and our spirits tremble with unknowing, when we stumble and search and seek after your face, a beloved face that seems so far from us, that is when YOU call us by name. As you did with Mary on Easter, you pierce through the mystery and call us, claim us, love us. As you did on Easter, you reveal that you are not removed from the world, but that you are here, with us, through death and life, in the tomb of decay and the garden of growth, you are with us here in the world.

Reveal yourself to us today.

Where we see violence and destruction in the bombings of churches throughout Sri Lanka, where we watch the aftermath of shootings, as in New Zealand, reveal the wings of your comfort, the shelter of your arms, the balm of your care.

Where we see vigilante militias along the United States border treat refugees and asylum-seekers as criminals, reveal the power of your justice, the commitments of your love, and the renewal of your protection.

Where we see the violence in Libya where hundreds are dying and over one thousand wounded in the battle for control of the capital, Tripoli, reveal your compassion and wisdom to bring these fighting factions to achieve peace for the country’s people.

Where we see the brutality of domestic abuse and the secrets of family pain, as with the family found in the cave in Spain, reveal to us how you grieve the loss of your children, how you rage at the ways we abuse each other or do not to see the abuse of each other, how you call us to commit again to caring for your vulnerable ones.

Where we see political protests in places around the word, like Sudan and Hong Kong, reveal how you lift up the lowly and bring down the mighty from their thrones. We know that not all shouting voices should be given the megaphone, yet we also know that what we think of as power and might, will pass away as grass in your sight.

Where we see the erosion of environment and the increasing anxiety over resources, with loss of rainforests in Brazil and months of drought in Australia, reveal how you have poured your care into every aspect of Creation, and how you demand that we more faithfully steward this world entrusted to us.

Where we see tragedy and death this week from the natural elements in the Philippines from earthquakes, landslides in Columbia and floods and mudslides in South Africa, reveal your consoling arms to surround these victims and their bereaved loved ones in love and strength to endure their loss.

Where we need to see your face, Lord, we pray that you will show up before us and remind us again that nothing, not even death, will separate us from you.

You have called to us before. Call to us now.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 14, 2019

[God] brought [Abram] outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ~ Genesis 15:5

God of abundance, we know that you are able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, and yet our prayers are limited by the boundaries of our human imagination. We pray for small mercies when you offer overflowing grace. We ask for minor alleviation of suffering when you offer true justice. We meekly request a reduction in violence when you offer universal and eternal peace. Help us to put our trust in you so that the shaping of our world might be guided by your wisdom and your love rather than our own limited human perspective. Make us bold to pray that your will be done in all ways and in all places in all of your creation:

Workers race to rescue school children trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Lagos, Nigeria, and the community of Suzano in Brazil mourns the loss and grief caused by a shooting in a local school. All 157 passengers and crew sadly lost their lives after a Boeing crashed just after take-off in Ethiopia and the death toll rises in heavy rains and flooding in Malawi. In the face of such tragedy, we pray for small signs of hope and individual miracles, forgetting that you are able to transform our world so that suffering and fear and hate of all kinds might cease. May your will be done so that grace and love might abound in our world.

The governor of California, USA, has placed a temporary halt on death penalty executions, and Cardinal George Pell has been sentenced to jail for sexual abuse crimes in Australia, but we fail to see a path toward true righteousness in our social systems and in our institutions. May your will be done so that your justice might guide us in our community relationships.

Investigators have found evidence of extreme ethnic violence in DR Congo, the world watches as North Korea once again represents a threat through their construction of rocket-launching facilities, and we watch and despair as persistent clashes continue to kill soldiers and innocents in Yemen and Afghanistan. Our prayers so often are limited to asking for an end to violence, but your vision for the world is one of peace beyond anything we can imagine. May your will be done so that your shalom of safety, peace, and unity might prevail.
A white supremacist attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 49. Live videos of the horrendous gun slaughter were aired around the world on social media. We wonder how many vicariously enjoyed the violence, how many want to imitate, how many deepened their commitment to prevent it. Even as our hearts break with those who have lost their loved ones, even as we pray, we wonder how a good God could fail, over and over, to stop this horror. May your will be done, so we can join you in bringing peace out of darkness, new life out of death, compassion out of bigotry.

Like Abram, O God, we question your promises, wondering if the coming of your kingdom is even possible. Give us the faith to follow you and trust in your covenant with us. Despite all obstacles, fill us with your vision of how the world ought to be so that we might be bearers of hope and small glimpses of that which is to come. As Abram prayed for a son but learned that your promises would exceed his imagination, so too may we learn to pray beyond our wildest dreams so that we can participate in the depth and truth of your plans for all of us and for all of creation. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 7, 2019

“Safe in the shadow of the Lord

beneath His hand and power,

I trust in Him,

my fortress and my tower.”

– paraphrase of Ps 91 by Timothy Dudley-Smith

Heavenly Father, Your word and being is of compassion, merciful care and everlasting love to all, regardless of merit. The response to this has to be our choice. But, if we come choosing to trust You in your nature and openly admit with contrition where we have fallen short or turned away from You, Your everlasting mercy erases our failures and unites us with Your heart. We long for this acceptance and healing.

Lord, I trust in You and give thanks and praise.

“My hope is set on God alone though Satan sets his snare,”…

The temptation to be obsessed by becoming “successful” and gaining material wealth and power too often based on exploiting others and the world You have created is seen as being mainstream and so seductive. We think of our cheap, instant fashion created by people in sweat shops; our flowers often out of season grown in developing countries using chemicals not allowed in our own home states; cheap palm oil at the expense of deforestation and loss of habitat for wildlife and endangering the ecosystem of the entire planet. Our rubbish, whether technical, plastic, or ships and vehicles, dumped overseas where they are stripped by people in desperate need of work, often in very dangerous conditions, and contaminating their environment.

Lord, open our eyes to the convenience of our lives so dearly paid for by others we don’t see or rarely think of. But, these too are our brothers and sisters, created and loved by You.

I choose to trust in You, God, to keep each one of us in Your care and make us more aware of how we are co-dependent one on each other, regardless of where we live on this small, beautiful, but fragile planet.

“From fears and phantoms of the night, from foes about my way”…

The widespread use of violence in word, attitude, and action wounds, marginalizes, and even kills people. Anything that is “other” than what we are is portrayed as being negative and even not worthy of being allowed to exist. We remember people of faith being persecuted for being Christian in Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Northern Nigeria, Iraq and even in Europe and the UK if people of other faiths chose to become Christian; for those Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Jehovah Witnesses and others who are routinely targeted by hatred and thoughtless violence in word and action and even torture in Russia, the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and many countries in Africa, South America and Asia. Our fear of difference and love of the same as ourselves distorts so often into ugliness and hatred of others.

We give thanks for projects, such as that led by Dr. Paula Green in Massachusetts, USA, bringing people together from across whichever divide exists in our communities for conflict resolution. Helping to put faces to the depersonalized hate or feared group of people, and to really listen to each other are major starting points.

I choose to trust in You, God, by darkness and by day. Forgive us our smallness of mind, heart and understanding and open us by the in-pouring of Your Holy Spirit.

“His holy angels keep my feet secure from every stone;”…

Fake news abounds throughout the media and the world, built on fears and trying to cause division and confusion. In Venezuela, Israel, the Middle East, Europe the UK and Northern Ireland over Brexit; countries, politicians, multinational companies trying to manipulate others through media disinformation and lies, breaking down trust, increasing the sense of helplessness and hopelessness in so many: we recall the Chinese telecoms corporation, Huawei, Facebook, Twitter, most major newspaper groups in the UK, and so many of our own governments who are involved in this to varying degrees. We give thanks for the individuals and groups daring to challenge, often at great personal cost, even of their lives, and hold to account those perpetrating such destructive practices. You are the God of truth, justice and what we rarely speak about now, “righteousness”.

I choose to trust in You, God, and with Your help, unafraid go on. Keep hope alive for all those who look and trust in You so others too may come to know You and Your love.

“Strong in the everlasting name, and in my Father’s care”…

The widespread epidemic of violence of gun and knife crime, and using sex as a weapon of violence is destroying lives and communities throughout the world but with especial focus on India, Canada, the UK, the USA, South Africa, and the Middle East.

We give thanks for many initiatives both at national and local levels to combat this globally including Boston, USA as far back as 1995, inspiring others in Scotland and now England.

I choose to trust in You, God, who hears and answers prayer.

Daily, let our prayer be that in all we seek to be and do as individuals and communities, we choose to be safe in the shadow of You, our Lord, our God and Redeemer. Possessed by Your divine love, help us to trust in You and meet Your unfathomable love with our puny and sometimes swithering love and, so, be participants in transforming and transfiguring all of Your Creation of which we are part. Power in Your terms is Love. May we become people of such power. AMEN.

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 14th February 2019

Creator God,

It doesn’t seem enough to say we thank you for the beauty of your creation. When we think of all that happened from the growth of our planet, its place in the solar system and the most we can say is “thanks”. You know the gratitude of our hearts, the deep meaning we want to place on these words, you accept and understand. Thank you, our God.

This week Lord, the doomsayers have been out in force: the increasing loss of the icecaps and glaciers; the effect of insecticides, even those long banned, on all insects; the threat to wildlife from dogs and domestic cats turned feral. Then a sliver of good news: NASA satellite data shows an increase in leaf area on plants and trees across the amazon; India and China are planting major areas with trees.

This week, a teenager in Ohio, USA has used technology to research vaccinations and has now received them. Teenagers in Bristol, England have researched the bus boycott of 1963 and discovered their missing history. For the power of the internet for good we give thanks.

This week, emergency supplies pile up and rot in Hudayah, Yemen and on the Columbia / Venezuela border, we pray that warring politicians will see the harm they do in power struggles and the power of the internet will become good for their countries.

This week as more warnings about dams holding toxic sludge emerge and other industrial mining problems become widely known we pray for the people of Brazil and the open cast mining areas of Appalachia, USA.

This week, Lord, help us to understand what we have done to our planet and how we need to make changes in our lives. Wild fires have burned across Tasmania, Australia and New Zealand; the effects of last autumn’s fires still devastate lives across California, USA; floods across Chile and Northern Australia; from Cincinnati to California, USA we recognise the multiple environmental crisis across the world.

We give thanks for the many small steps being taken by individuals and groups across the world to highlight and tackle this. Machynlleth, Wales has become the first town in Wales to declare a “climate emergency”, following the example of others globally. It is focussing on measures to dramatically reduce its carbon footprint. Villagers in Jenjarom, Malaysia are fighting to have the government close illegal factories dealing with Western rubbish poisoning their land, water and air.

The heavens declare your glory, God. Help us rediscover the sacred in our world and environment which you have made so we “touch the earth lightly”*.

Thank you for hearing our prayer and for your answers.

Amen

*”Touch the Earth lightly” – (New Zealand), Lyrics: Shirley Erena Murray Music: Tenderness – Colin Gibson

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, February 7, 2019

Holy One,

We pray to see the world as you see it.

We pray to have our hearts rejoice with what delights you.

We pray to have our hearts break with what grieves you.

The world has wonder, but also pain. When our spirits are full of tumult and questions, we turn to you. You gather in all that we spill out. You hold all that we cannot grasp. We have so many emotions, you sit with us and we rest in your presence.

Loving Lord, gather us in. Gather us in as you do with all your children.

Gather in your children who are living with the rising unrest in Venezuela, who seek economic and political security, who worry about the next days food. Hold each and all of those who live in trepidation and instability around the world.

Gather in your children who are dealing with political frustration in Britain and France, as well as many other countries. Where a select few make decisions for a great many, offer a new vision that might lead to the flourishing of all citizens.

Gather in your children who live amid horrendous violence in Syria and Yemen. Where we see conflict that seems like an indiscriminate mess, you see each person who cries out for a home, for a safe place to rest their head, feed the hungry and for peace that will let them raise their young ones without fear.

Gather in your children who are hurt by racism and systems of oppression in the United States, particularly after the exposure of some Virginia, politicians’ past decisions and behaviors. When we mock an entire group of people and ignore history for the sake of frivolity, you see beautiful people, worthy of attention and the need for tough and honest conversations about racism, the need to build meaningful relationships through the work of justice. Show us the way.

Gather in your children who live in habitats filled with crisis, including those living in the aftermath of the 2018 California, USA fires and in Australia with its extreme heat and extensive brush fires. Bring to fruit in us a deeper understanding of your Creation, that we might be stewards of its resources and understand and address climate change in the same spirit, as you love this world.

Gather in your children who worry about where their next meal is coming from, how they will pay the bills. Gather in your children who wait for the doctor’s call or the test result or exam grade. Gather in the many whose wellbeing is always at risk and seems to hang in the balance.

Gather all of us.

We need your light, your love, and abiding grace.

Gather us, each one into your arms, all day, each day, until the last day.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – January 31, 2019

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,
and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver,
until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. ~ Malachi 3:2-3

Day after day, O God, we call to you for change and redemption in our broken world. But Malachi reminds us that often change and redemption must begin with us, in the refining and purifying of our own lives and our own habits. As we look at the news across the world this week, help us to see our own shortcoming reflected in the stories we read:

Remind us of the consequences of our abuse of the earth and our desire for lifestyles of convenience at the expense of your creation as freezing temperatures in the United States and record heat in Australia cause the deaths of people and animals.
Remind us of our responsibility to each other as unrest in Venezuela and Zimbabwe continues to disproportionately hurt vulnerable populations like women and those experiencing poverty.
Remind us of the effects of our desire for power and control as we watch millions of your children suffer in war-torn countries like Yemen, Syria, and South Sudan, where daily suffering is too often and too easily ignored.
Remind us of our power to effect change in our political systems, even as we watch with weary eyes as Brexit conflict continues in the United Kingdom, hateful and incendiary language continues to pour from government leaders in the United States, and countries around the world continue the trend of turning inward and denying their duty to care for the last and least of those you created and love.

Be with us, Holy One, as we look at the mirror that shows us who we truly are, facing with boldness the role that our sin plays in the suffering of our world and even our own friends and families. Remind us that we can face our sinful selves without fear because we know that your purifying and refining grace have worked and will continue to work in each of us, transforming us into the people you call us to be so that we, in turn, might participate in your great mission of transforming the world. Teach us to pray with deep conviction and purpose, God of love and redemption, so that we might learn that, in the words of Mother Theresa, “prayer changes us, and we change things.”

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, September 20, 2018

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:26

We come before you today, O God,
a mixture of emotions,
with a plethora of experiences.
Guide our hearts as we look on this world in which we live,
so that we might see it through your eyes.

All-too-often, we focus on the negative.
We focus on the death, not on the resurrection.
We see the brokenness.
Shattered, fragmented, torn-asunder lives.
And, rest assured, there is pain.
Grief, fear, anxiety…they are all VERY real.
There is no denying that we are a broken and hurting people;
living in a broken and hurting world.

Hurricanes and tropical storms wreak havoc around the world,
floods have killed over 100 in Nigeria,
Zimbabwe has declared a cholera emergency,
women and girls are attacked, mistreated, and abused,
needles have been found in strawberries in Australia,
and relationships suffer around the globe.

And yet, we are called to live abundant lives. (John 10:10)
We are promised that God’s kingdom is not only coming,
it is already in our midst. (Luke 17:21)
There are reasons to celebrate,
children are being born into loving homes,
teachers are transforming lives and guiding young minds,
people, young and old, are coming to a deeper relationship with God,
a 9-year-old girl in foster care celebrates one year with the same parents
(for the first time in her life).

Transform us, Holy One, ever more into who you have created us to be.
Open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds
so that we may be agents of transformation in this world,
shining the light of your love into the darkness around us.
Remind us, we pray, that the darkness has never overcome the light. (John 1:5)

World News This Week in Prayer, Thursday, September 13, 2018

“So we can say with confidence, with boldness, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’ ” Hebrews 12:6

Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand,

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the light.

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

Words and music: Thomas Dorsey Tune: PRECIOUS LORD

Precious Lord, around and about this incredible world of yours, your children are being threatened by the forces of nature: in the southeastern United States by Hurricane Florence; in the Philippines and Hong Kong by Typhoon Mangkhut; in Hawaii by Tropical Storm Olivia. And our overwhelming response is fear, as we worry about the impending damage from wind and rain.. Uplift us, Loving God. Fill us with the confidence that whatever befalls, you are with us. God of grace and mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Peace, around and about this hurting world of yours, your children are threatened by ongoing wars and their sequelae. News of massive military drills being held by Russia and China; air strikes in rebel-held Idlib province in Syria by the Syrian government and the suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, resulting in 68 dead and 165 injured bring worry and suffering. The crackdown in China against minority Muslim groups, especially the Uyghurs, with tens of thousands being sent to political re-education camps causes deep concern and grief. And our overwhelming response is a sense of helplessness, as we see ourselves as unable to make a difference. Uplift these, your own, Loving God. Fill them with confidence and hope that whatever befalls, you are with them and our loving concern supports them. God of courage and hope, hear our prayer.

God of Compassion and Justice, around and about this wonderful world of yours, your children are reaching out to one another in love and daring which we celebrate: Harper Nielson, the 9-year-old Australian schoolgirl, daring to protest her perceived injustice of the national anthem; Elissa Montanti of Staten Island, New York, founding an organization, Global Medical Relief Fund, to bring children injured in war or by natural disasters to the United States for medical care unavailable to them in their home countries; the courage of the Supreme Court of India for their landmark decision to legalize and decriminalize consensual gay sex. Uplift them all, Loving God. Fill them and us with a sense of justice which gives us courage to stand up for what is right. God of all people, hear our prayer.

When our way grows drear,

precious Lord, linger near,

when our lives are almost gone,

hear our cry, hear our call,

hold our hands lest we fall,

Take our hands, precious Lord, lead us home. Amen and amen