Iran

World News this Week in Prayer – Thursday, August 1, 2019

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,

and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.

You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn,

so from east to west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

Canticle of the Turning/ Irish traditional tune

O, God, who sees and hears the plight of your children, your beloved ones, in every place, in every land, we ask that you hear the voices of the forty-four pro-democracy protestors arrested in Hong Kong; for the families of the two young mothers killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago, U.S.A. as they were part of an anti-crime street vigil; for those arrested in Moscow, Russia, for protesting over the lack of free elections. You have given us the desire to work and fight and speak for justice; empower those who dare to live into this desire and grant them peace of heart and mind. Empower us, even as we sing:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.

O God of peace and justice, you who call us to be peacemakers and to work for justice, we ask that you bring your healing touch of peace to the ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine over the Israeli razing of Palestinian buildings; to North Korea where there have been additional tests of short-range missiles; to the attempts of the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan to establish talks with the Taliban; to the offer of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javada Zarif to talk with Saudi Arabia. And as our hearts break over the shooting in California, U.S. which killed three and injured more than a dozen; over the more than 900 children separated from their families at the U.S.– Mexico border this year, in spite of a court order against such action; over Italy denying admittance to 116 African asylum-seekers, we fall to our knees, even as we sing:

From the halls of pow’r to the fortress tow’r, not a stone will be left on stone.

Let the king beware for your justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne..

The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;

there are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.

O God of love, who never fails to accept and comfort us, even when we fail and fall, we ask that you keep us ever-mindful that, even in the midst of a world which seemingly filled only with pain and heartache and injustice, there are good and beautiful and wonderful things happening: the increase in the previously endangered tiger population in India; the faithful members of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) working tirelessly at the southern U.S. border in behalf of the asylum-seekers there; the young woman, Rachel Oehlert, who has used her struggle with dyslexia to allow her to begin a small charity, Truly Make Believe, which has volunteers who read to children in children’s hospitals who are far from home. And so, with tear-filled eyes and thankful hearts, we sing:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.

Hear our prayers for our world this day, Most Holy God. Amen and amen.

World News The Week in Prayer- Thursday, May 30. 2019

(6/1/19 Apologies to our readers. Due to my own sheer stupidity – aka, forgetting to restart the emails after changing a setting – the prayers didn’t email on schedule this week. Mea culpa! -Andee, World in Prayer founder)

Holy One,In our prayers, we seek you and in our praying, we feel the air stirred by your Spirit.

Our spirits rise to meet you, and even in the rising, we find you descending as a dove to meet us.

Our hearts drop into disappointment, and even in the falling, we find your wings beneath us, lifting and carrying us forth.

Reveal your Spirit to all who need your presence. Carry us forth to pray for the world.

Reveal your Spirit to those who live in Israel, Britain, India, and other places contorted by frustrations with leaders and wounded by political maneuverings.

Reveal your Spirit to those who live in Nigeria, as they pass the 4 year anniversary of the kidnapping of the Chibok girls and as kidnapping blooms as a business.

Reveal your Spirit to the family and friends of Terrill Thomas, who died of profound dehydration in a United States jail cell, after officials turned off his water supply; reveal yourself to all those who care of someone being held in prison or a detention center—and reveal your Spirit to the prisoners themselves.

Reveal your Spirit to those in Bangladesh riven with despair, anger, and grief over the death of Nusrat Jahan Rafi and the sixteen men charged with killing her.

Reveal your Spirit to those negotiating and debating over the increasingly tense relationship between Iran and United States, Israel and Gaza, and other places of fear, loathing, and historic violence.

Reveal your Spirit in the walking and the words of Hyppolite Ntigurirwa, a genocide survivor, as he walks through his country of Rwanda, hoping to unite the country in remembering and healing from the 1994 genocide.

Reveal your Spirit to those people whom we do not name or even know, but who are held by love in your heart.In all these places, make your presence known.To all these people, reveal your self.

Bear each beloved child on the wings of your abiding Spirit, until all might realize that, no matter what happens, you will never let them go. We need you, O Holy One. So we pray. Amen.

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

[Italics are quotes from “Ella’s Song” by Sweet Honey in the Rock.]

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

Almighty God, we pray for all who fear for their lives around the globe, living in war-torn areas, living in fear of terrorism, and living under oppressive governments, including:

the civilians in Baghuz, Syria that have been evacuated from the area occupied by the Islamic State, and for as many as 200 men, women, and children that may still be there.
the people of Haiti, where political unrest has led to destruction and death, including a young boy, Roberto Journal, who was unarmed, following his mother’s instructions, and allegedly killed by a police officer.

May we all be moved to work for change and toward safety for all of our neighbors in all areas of the world.

Until the killing of black men, black mother’s sons
Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons,
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

Holy One, we lift up all survivors of sexual abuse, especially as we are so often reminded in the news of the growing tide of sexual abuse scandals involving priests around the world. We pray this day for:

all students from the religious Antonio Provolo Institute for the Deaf in Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina, where one of the worst cases yet among the global abuse scandals has been uncovered.
all youth who have recently come forward as victims of the devastating sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse they suffered within the Community of St. John in Switzerland.

May they each be comforted by Your peace and strength, and may they find the courage to speak out.

To me young people come first;
They have the courage where we fail,
And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale,
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

Compassionate God, while the economics and morals of oil production and distribution are complicated, we all mourn when we see an entire country’s economy in such jeopardy that its people are starving:

in Venezuela, where sanctions from the United States have accelerated the unprecedented collapse of its oil output and set off a domino where millions of people are unable to get basic supplies, leading to starvation and illness.
in Iran, where sanctions from the United States are choking its entire economy and hurting its people, even those who have nothing to do with its ballistic missile program.

May we look beyond our own agenda and see that when Your people hurt, we all hurt.

Struggling myself don’t mean a whole lot; I’ve come to realize
That teaching others to stand up and fight is the only way my struggle survives;
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

Loving God, we pray for those affected by political and racial discord as fighting over the United States-Mexico border wall intensifies and tensions increase:

for those fleeing danger to come to the United States hoping to be safe; for the undocumented immigrants who still are not reunited with their families; and for all those who are facing persecution because of their immigration status.
for the government officials involved in decision making, that they be guided by love, and therefore guided by You.

May we learn to solve crises with love instead of with hatred.

Not needing to clutch for power,
Not needing the light just to shine on me;
I need to be one in the number as we stand against tyranny;
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

May Your Holy Spirit guide us into becoming partners with You in this world’s transformation as we who believe in freedom are transformed into agents of Your justice, mercy, and love. Amen.

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, 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, 1 November 2018

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2

And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Ezekiel 47:9

Dear God our Creator and Redeemer,

Help us to live in awe in this world, this day and in this moment. Help us to understand with new eyes how you spoke the world into being and as it unfolds, even now, in this season, as wind and water move over earth. Help us to hold sacred the lands. Are we stewards or despoilers? Help us to understand how you restore and renew the world. Help us to see your grace at work. We read of TheKofan people of Sinangoe in the Amazonwhoprotecting more than 79,000 acres of primary rainforest in their ancestral homeland in Ecuador. Theyhave won a landmark legal battle to defend one of its’ largest and most important rivers from mining claims.

And when will peace come like fresh water flowing through the many rivers of Ethiopia where 1.4 million of its 100 million people are displaced? Help us to hear Ambassador Shalework Zewde’s words, “When there is no peace in country, mothers will be frustrated. Therefore, we need to work on peace for the sake of our mothers.” Help us to see your grace at work as the two Houses elected their first female head of state. Sustain this ancient land, stop the bloodshed and renew its peoples.

Be with the people and lawmakers of Sri Lanka, Germany and Brazil as leadership is changing and uncertainty grows.

And when will peace like the rains that come to Gaza in winter bring reconciliation and an end to the bloodshed and deprivation for the near 2 million Palestinians? We mourn for the 210 killed and more than 18,000 wounded in the past 6 months during the weekly Friday protests along the Israeli border. We pray for the brokering by Egypt for peace as refugees live with undrinkable tap water and only a few hours of electricity a day. Only your mercy can cause these and other injustices to fall away. In these days and weeks to come may your truth be known and received.

We watch and pray as the United States government has been ordered by the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands to halt sanctions that it had placed on the exporting to Iran of medicine and medical devices such as incubators, food and agricultural commodities such as wheat and spare parts and equipment necessary to ensure the safety of civil aviation. Open our eyes and hearts. Help us to bend and bow to your commandment: to love you and to love one another.

Awaken us from the suffering and deep misery, the horrible loss of opioid addiction and death so prominent in both the United States and Canada. We pray that the US legislation signed into law this week known as the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act will indeed work swiftly, prioritizing children, adolescents, and families as this public health crisis continues to unfold. We call on the Holy Spirit to guide our discerning as neighborhoods, towns, schools and workplaces find new resources to turn around this epidemic. We lift the tens of thousands who have experienced loss of loved ones. Lord have mercy.

Shed your mercy on the grieving families and their community in Louisville, Kentucky, United States as an attempted break-in at a church and murder of two people raises the alarm of violence so often fueled by hate. Forgive us for our sins Lord.

We weep, we grieve, we shake our heads and we come together once again. The world watches as a young man’s ashes are laid to rest twenty years after a hate crime ended his life. Again we despair, we groan and grieve as eleven worshipers at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA are murdered and six are injured. Guide us in these dark days where fear and hatred seem so common. Will this violence end? Help us to continue our resolve for peace making amid such hate and deadly force. In this time of mourning may we comfort each other as you have comforted us. In the days to follow may we commit to the words of Micah, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Help us to take those steps no matter how hard it seems and how impossible the way.

And as this day becomes night let us remember your tender power amidst all the little things: the birds in migration, the little ones yet to be reunited with their families, the least of these, the forgotten, the unnamed, the isolated and imprisoned, those on the road and in hiding, the many suffering – we pray for these and call to You. Hear our prayers.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – 30 August 2018

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Psalm 13:1-2 (NRSV)

How long, O Lord?
Our hearts and souls echo the cry of the Psalmist.
Around the world and in our communities, people hurt one another in countless ways.
Clergy, teachers, business leaders, and seemingly countless others abuse their power, resulting in the deep suffering of communities, our fellow humans, and even you, O God.
We pray for all victims of abuse at the hands of clergy and religious leaders.
We pray for the Rohingya of Myanmar who have face what the UN Secretary General called “horrendous persecution.”

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
Psalm 13:3-4 (NRSV)

So much of the news we hear, O God, shakes us to our core. It seems like no matter where we turn we find brokenness, pain, and heartache. We pray for men, women, and children experiencing homelessness, who don’t have many of their basic needs met. We pray for those affected, and the families of those killed, by earthquakes in Venezuela and Iran. We pray for the flora and fauna of our world, as hundreds of sea turtles have been found dead off the coast of Mexico after being caught in an illegal fishing net. We pray for the thousands fleeing flooding after a dam burst in Myanmar.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13:5-6 (NRSV)

God, we lift our hearts and our voices to you.
We give you praise, because in the midst of our fear and brokenness, there are glimpses of your presence and your love:

Cartoon artists who are challenging stereotypes by depicting female superheroes who are also Muslim.
Children who are growing, learning, and finding their voices as they try to create a more just and loving world.

We pray for the government and parents in China, as they debate removing the limits on family size.

Simple acts of kindness, often unnoticed by the crowds, bring light and hope into the world. Let us never forget, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5 NRSV)

Help us, O God, to focus on the light of your love.
Help us to believe Jesus’ promise of abundant life.
And, help us to lift our voices to you in praise, for you have dealt bountifully with us.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, May 10, 2018

Lord, we come before you

Prayer is communication that invites at-one-ness with You, the source of our being. We call you God, and as revealed in the flesh, Jesus. We ask for empowerment. Transform us with the life-giving force of the Holy Spirit. Make us channels of the your Eternal Love, Light, and Grace. Help us to continue this work of transformation, of ourselves and of all creation.

Lord, in your mercy hear us

As You are One, You call us to this oneness yet we are so divided by what should unite us, our religious beliefs, diverse cultures, resources and desires. You have shown us glimpses of Yourself according to what we are willing and able to receive, then, too often, we become exclusive and possessive. Thinking we own the truth, we denigrate others.

We see this in the tensions in India between Hindus and Muslims leading to the torture, rape and murder of young girls. Coptic Christians being attacked in Egypt. Conflict and sectarian violence continuing in Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Nigeria and elsewhere around the world.

Lord, hear us and forgive us

You call us to care and nurture all creation, yet so often we treat it cavalierly and out of greed, abuse our resources. The continuing deforestation of huge swathes of Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, and even in protected ancient forests such as Poland. New gigantic off-shore platforms near Australia are drawing natural gas resources to meet our insatiable greed for energy.

Lord, teach us stewardship and how to touch the earth lightly for the benefit of all and generations to come.

Lord, hear us and forgive us.

We give thanks for the work in the United Arab Emirates by scientists from Norway who have developed a method to pump liquid clay nano-particles into sandy desert so that crops are planted in seven hours instead of seven years. Water required to grow these crops is also reduced by up to 50%. The blooming of the desert is a closer reality.

We give thanks too for the female armed rangers in southern Zimbabwe who are protecting highly endangered elephants from poachers. Unlike their male counterparts, they are not succumbing to corruption or pressure but are arresting poachers even from their own villages or families. Often having survived abusive relationships, these women can now send their children to school and support them.

Lord, continue to strengthen those taking such creative action in solving problems we humans so often have created.

Lord, we bless your holy Name: hear us and bless us.

We continue to remember all who fear. Remember those experiencing natural disasters such as in Hawaii, U.S., and dust and electrical storms in India. Guide our leaders as we watch such political posturing as between North Korea and the rest of the world. Give us discernment in the Iranian nuclear discussions and in the latest financial crisis in Argentina. Comfort those experiencing the devastating wave of knife crimes in London, England among the young. Be with those imprisoned throughout the world without trial or justice, those lonely, those who feel they have no self-worth.

Help us to reach out as need presents itself in all its forms. We have heard your Truth. Prompt us to act on it and live it in our daily choices and decisions.

Lord, hear and answer our prayers for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ who opened the way for Your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 3 May 2018

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul. (African American spiritual)

O God, when our hearts are breaking, when our souls are wounded, to whom else shall we turn? Where else shall we bring our prayers, our concerns, our woundedness, our confusion, but to you? For you have the words of eternal life, those words of comfort and peace for which we long, even as tears for the hurts of this world course down our faces.

Together, we pray for the people of Armenia, Honduras, Libya, Malaysia, and Turkey, as unrest over elections continues, as the people yearn for justice and truth and integrity from their political leaders. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Together, we pray for the victims of the two suicide bomb attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan, along with the families of those killed including 8 journalists and photographer Shah Marai; for the victims of the blast at a mosque in northeast Nigeria which has killed more than 27, as the people yearn for hope and peace and safety. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Together, we pray for those seeking the abatement of nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea, as people everywhere fear for the continued well-being of this planet and its inhabitants. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Together, we pray that the supporters and opponents of DACA and immigration in the United States might come to some just agreement, even as those in the caravan of Central Americans seeking asylum long only to be seen as people of worth. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

O God of all creation, you call us all your children and so, when our hearts are breaking, when our souls are wounded, we turn to you. We bring our prayers, our concerns, our woundedness, our confusion to you. For you have the words of eternal life, those words of comfort and peace for which we long. And so, guide our steps as we work for peace and justice. Guide our words as we speak out for what is right. Open our hearts to the truth of your love and acceptance and compassion, that we might be your presence in this world of ours. Let this be so. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 7th November 2017

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2, NRSV)

God of comfort, we live in a world that increasingly reveals its disconnection from you. We feel the deepening of the artificial divisions of nation, race, and religion as the Supreme Court in the United States allows a ban to go into effect that will prevent refugees and families from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States. Wars and the threat of new conflicts abound, and fears mount as countries like North Korea demonstrate their military might with ever-escalating missile tests. We cry out to you in our exile and ask, ‘How long, O Lord?’ Bring to us the comfort that you have promised. Be present with us in our pain and fear and worry. Cause us to see your face in the faces of our neighbors both near and far.

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)

God of glory, we long for the day of your revelation. Your children around the world continue to suffer in places like Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Myanmar, and so many others. The earth cries out for justice as natural resources are abused and protected lands are exposed, like in the United States’ Bears Ears National Monument, which is set to lose 85% of its acreage in a policy change. The impact of pollution grows in places like Delhi, India, where toxic air quality levels have threatened the health of residents for weeks. Guide us in preparing the way for your coming. Give us hearts for service and wisdom to act with justice.

Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’ (Isaiah 40:9, NRSV)

God of hope, in this season of Advent, remind us of the glad tidings of great joy that come to us as a baby in a manger. Open our eyes to the good news of Christ’s presence in our lives and in the lives of all people, especially those who suffer and are in need. And give us hope in the glorious future of your coming kingdom, when your justice shall reign and your love shall transform the world.

See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep. (Isaiah 40:10-11, NRSV)

Amen.