God, today is one of those days when it is hard to pray. One of the days when life feels so overwhelming that shutting down might seem like the best option. And on days like today, we have this community of prayer that lifts us up. Right now, we pray for each one reading this prayer right now, each one hearing this prayer right now, and each one needing prayer right now. Although we may be unknown to each other, we are known to you, O God of all people.
Whatever our daily lives may bring, it can be easy for us to get caught up in ourselves and forget You and Your beloved children. We often look past the struggles of others and choose frustration rather than empathy. We often see one another as competition rather than brothers and sisters. Help us to really see, and know, each other – that we may feel our connection to You and to Your world more and more each day, we pray.
Holy One, we lift up our prayers for your Divine creation all over the world:
- For the 48 people who have been killed and the 67 who were injured in the suicide bomb explosion at an education center in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- For the 39 victims of a collapsed bridge in Genoa, Italy, and the survivors of the 40 vehicles that fell 45m (148′) in Tuesday’s collapse.
- For the thousands of victims of the abuse by more than 300 priests accused of sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, USA, over several decades.
- For the 47 or more people who overdosed on synthetic marijuana, or K2, in New Haven, CT, USA on Wednesday.
- For the more than 21 victims of the boat carrying school children that sank crossing a flooded area near the Nile River in Sudan, Africa.
- For the more than 100 people thought to be dead in devastating monsoon floods in India – the worst in almost a century.
Comfort those experiencing grief and loss. Relieve those who are suffering. Bring strength to those who are hospitalized, confined to homes, or undergoing tests. We pray the day when we all recognize that no matter where we are from in the world, what we look like, or what we believe, we are bound together as one human family.
Eternal God, by whose power we are created and by whose love we are sustained, although we know You are always with us, on the days when it is hard to pray for ourselves, on the days when Your love may feel a little further from us, may we be lifted up by our sisters and brothers, who You have created for this very purpose. And on the days when we feel strong, may we be moved to honor Your creation with our thoughts, prayers, and actions.
We ask all of these things in Your many Holy names. Amen.
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