Mark 9:35: And Jesus said to his followers, Whomever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
We are not good at servanthood, loving God. We are not good at putting the needs of others first. We are not good at seeing through eyes of justice and compassion. Those are the very things which are most needed in our hurting world, yet, on our own, we fail and fall–and so we turn to you for strength and courage and resolve.
We pray for the more than 430,000 refugees who have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe this year, and for those nearly 3,000 who have died or gone missing as they sought asylum in unseaworthy boats or at the hands of unscrupulous human traffickers.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. (Psalm 54:2)
We pray for the one million Syrians who will flee from the war in their country before year’s end. Our hearts are heavy with the awareness that in four years of brutal war in that nation, 250,000 have been killed and half of all Syrians have been forced from their homes, leaving 7.6 million displaced, 4 million of whom have fled the country.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
We pray for the nations of the European Union, including Germany and Finland, who have opened their hearts and borders to receive refugees. As these nations seek for ways to respond to the worst refugee crisis since World War II, fill the leaders with compassion and guide them in the paths of justice, remembering that your own beloved son and his parents were once refugees, seeking asylum in Egypt.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
We pray for the families of the 17 people drowned in Utah in the United States this week in flash floods. And we remember those in California who have lost everything to the on-going wild fires that have decimated so many acres of timberland, threatening the majestic and ancient redwoods.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
We pray for Chile, still bracing against aftershocks after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Although only 11 people died, a million have been evacuated as a safety precaution. Tsunami alerts have been lifted in Chile and for most of the Pacific, but are still in effect for low-lying areas in Japan.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
We pray for the people of the Philippines, as they face a presidential election, aware that, in the midst of so many political scandals, they most need a person of integrity, intellect, experience, and political will to lead them.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
As electioneering continues unabated in the United States, we pray that you might guide the candidates to set aside partisanship and personal ideologies in the search for justice for all people. May they see that the hot-button issues of gay marriage and abortion are bu t two of the matters which need the attention of the people and the legislature. May they fearlessly and with true compassion face the vitally important matters of injustice in the legal system, childhood poverty, and income inequities.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
It is all too easy, patient and loving God, for us to point the finger of blame; to demonize those whose opinions differ from our own; to seek simple solutions to complex problems; to move through our everyday lives untouched by and unconcerned by the needs of our sisters and brothers throughout this world. So fill us with your Spirit, we pray, that we will see with your eyes, feel with your heart, and act with your courage and compassion for the welfare of all those who are in need. In the words of German theologian and martyr Deitrich Bonhoefer, whose birthday commemoration was this week, “Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
Into your hands, gracious God of justice and peace, of hope and compassion, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your everlasting mercy and grace. Amen and amen.
Thank you