Iraq

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 28, 2019

Holy One,

In the dark of the night when tears become our prayers, we believe the Spirit intercedes for us, breathing through our lament.

In the light of the day when fears hushes our voice, we believe that Christ listens to all that we carry in deep within our hearts.

In the midst of life’s cacophony, we believe that you draw us close, even when we struggle to draw close to you.

Not a word is on our lips that you do not know completely. And yet we must pray. We must offer up the yearnings and desires of our heart. We must pray for the world as it is and name the world that we long to see, the one that lives and moves and has its fullness in You, in your love and grace, peace and justice.

Thus, hear our prayers, oh loving, living Lord. Imperfect and incomplete as they might be, hear our prayers and make your presence known to us now.

Hear our prayers for the southern parts of Africa living with the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. We lift up to you all those who are struggling with flooding and fires, devastation, disease, and death. Be with the people of Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe as they strive to rebuild their homes, their lives, their sense of well-being. Be with aid workers, doctors, civilians, and all those who are working alongside each other to bring healing help.

Hear our prayers for those living within tumultuous and transitioning political systems around the world, including Britain, India, and Venezuela. Where people are driven by anxiety, bring forth signs of your hope. Where rage and hatred seem to have the last word, speak again your astounding word of peace. We pray for those who are mighty in power and privilege, who are making decisions for those who are the lowly, the lost, and the least among us.

Hear our prayers for those living in the aftermath of the shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. We pray for all those who step into their mosques, synagogues, and places of worship with trepidation. May all places of prayer become safe spaces for those who need them. We pray for those whose daily lives have been upended by violence in the past week, including in Yemen, Iraq, Gaza, and Israel. Be with parents, children, students, and civilians who live in the midst of gun violence, from villages in central Mali to subdivisions in the United States.

Through all these prayers, we rediscover again that we are not the saviors of the world. You are. We lift up our hearts to you, praying that our hands and feet might further the work of your kin-dom, today, tomorrow, now, and forever.

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 This Week in Prayer- Thursday, June 21, 2018

World Refugee Day was observed on June 20. Let us remember that a person’s dignity, worth, or humanity does not depend on their citizenship. May we be filled with the deep understanding that Jesus calls us to welcome and love the stranger.

Let us pray:

God of compassion, we are torn apart by the cruelty Your people are facing at the United States–Mexico border. We pray for the successful reuniting of families after thousands of children were separated from their parents and sent to “tender age” shelters in the US. We are grateful for the courage of those who are willing to stand up against injustice, like American, Frontier, Southwest, and United Airlines, who are refusing to transport these children away from their families.

God of love, our prayers are with those in Hungary, where parliament passed laws that criminalize offering help to immigrants seeking asylum. We pray that what is legal becomes more like what is just.

God of every Nation, we pray for Italy, as one of its Ministers vows to count and expel thousands of the nomadic Roma minority. And for the more than 600 refugees who risked their lives in search of safety and were turned away in Italy last week. We are thankful that they were accepted into Spain. May all countries be moved toward hospitality.

God of all people, we lift our hearts in prayer for the 20 war orphans in Baghdad, Iraq, who were invited to a restaurant for Eid al-Fitr, their fast breaking from Ramadan, but were rejected at the luxury shopping mall it was inside. May Your love move us to open our arms instead of closing our doors.

God of reconciliation, lead us to a day when we no longer see each other as aliens, as illegal, or as anything other than Your beloved children. May we know that all people are Your people.

We pray for the day when peace fills our hearts, our world, our universe, that these prayers may be made real. This we ask in your many Holy names. Amen.
——
Because of our many Hispanic readers, we are including a Spanish translation of this week’s prayers.

El Día Mundial de los Refugiados se celebró el 20 de junio. Recordemos que la dignidad, el valor o la humanidad de una persona no dependen de su ciudadanía.. Que seamos llenos del profundo entendimiento de que Jesús nos llama a recibir y amar al extraño.
Dejanos rezar:
Dios de compasión, somos destrozados por la crueldad que tu pueblo enfrenta en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. Oremos por la reunificación exitosa de las familias después de que miles de niños fueron separados de sus padres y enviados a refugios de “tierna edad” en los Estados Unidos.
Estamos agradecidos por la valentía de aquellos que están dispuestos a luchar contra la injusticia, como American, Frontier, Southwest y United Airlines, que se niegan a transportar a estos niños lejos de sus familias.
Dios de amor, nuestras oraciones están con aquellos en Hungría, donde el parlamento aprobó leyes que penalizan a ofrecer ayuda a los inmigrantes que buscan asilo. Oremos para que lo que es legal se vuelva más como lo que es justo.
Dios de cada nación, rezemos por Italia, ya que uno de sus ministros jura contar y expulsar a miles de la minoría romaní nómada. Y para los más de 600 refugiados que arriesgaron sus vidas en busca de seguridad y fueron rechazados en Italia la semana pasada. Estamos agradecidos de que hayan sido aceptados en España. Que todos los países se muevan hacia la hospitalidad.
Dios de todas las personas, elevemos nuestros corazones en oración por los 20 huérfanos de guerra en Bagdad, Iraq, que fueron invitados a un restaurante para Eid al-Fitr, su ayuno del Ramadán, pero fueron rechazados en el centro comercial de lujo que estaba dentro. Que tu amor nos mueva a abrir nuestros brazos en lugar de cerrar nuestras puertas.
Dios de la reconciliación, llévanos un día en el que ya no nos veamos como extraterrestres, como ilegales o como cualquier cosa que no seamos Tus queridos hijos. Que sepamos que todas las personas son tu gente.
Oremos por el día en que la paz llene nuestros corazones, nuestro mundo, nuestro universo, para que estas oraciones se hagan realidad. Esto lo pedimos en sus muchos y santos nombres. Amén.