World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, October 22, 2026

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God… Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days… Have compassion on your servants! Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.  Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— Psalm 90

Healing God, we thank you for breathing life into sick and suffering people in hospitals and clinics this week.

• Vatican City: Pope Leo, recovering from lung cancer surgery, held his first general audience on Wednesday, October 21, as he waved, smiled, and stopped to talk with pilgrims from his open-air popemobile vehicle. 

Lord, you who exist above all governments, we pray for resolutions of disputes and for peace where there has been ongoing war.

• Ethiopia and Eritrea: The destabilization of the region through militant groups raises concerns about an interstate war on the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
• Sudan: Renewed friction this week in the power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, that has continued since 2023, displacing over 14 million people and killing many thousands so far.
• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The M23 rebel group and other armed groups have seized major regional hubs, causing the displacement of millions of people and thousands of deaths.
• Russia and Ukraine: The U.S. president has seemingly shifted rhetoric and resources in favor of Russia in the war between Russia and Ukraine, prompting backlash from U.S. lawmakers. Relations between Washington, D.C., and Kyiv frayed after the U.S. announced a deal to buy Russian oil and the president issued an executive order on October 16 blocking enforcement of the law signed in September for harsher sanctions on Russia. Starlink communications experienced noticeable disruptions, which Ukraine uses to detect incoming Russian attacks and launch retaliation.

O Bread of Life, our world is full of people starving through famines. Support humanitarian workers delivering food and aid supplies to those in dire need.

• Sudan, Gaza, and Yemen: severe famines due to wars and blocked aid.

Lord of Shalom, thank you for those people who work for peace and for the ability to recognize peacemakers with the annual Nobel Peace Prize.

• South Africa: The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored Navanethem “Navi” Pillay with the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on October 9 for her work as a human rights champion in her efforts to advocate for international law and human rights, as well as to promote accountability for genocide and war crimes. 

Merciful God, you care for your children as a shepherd tenderly cares for sheep. Hear the cries of the protesters marching in the city streets in Europe and North Africa.

• France: Students initiated protests in September, continuing into October, over a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and dilapidated buildings; they grew into massive nationwide demonstrations, with rioting over the rising cost of living and failing social services. Authorities implemented localized overnight curfews and increased police presence to restore order in areas with increased violence, property damage, and looting.
• Spain and Portugal: People protesting rising rents and increased housing costs have erected tent camps in Madrid and Lisbon.
• Italy: The “Italy in the Streets” movement has galvanized thousands of demonstrators for better wages, employment, education, healthcare, and access to affordable housing.
• Tunisia: Protests grow against the current president, who is accused of corruption and mishandling the economy.

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and joy of the birds of the air, for providing for specific birds this week.

• U.S., New York City: We are thankful to hear about a new family of rare barn owls that moved into Manhattan and nested near a water tower in Central Park, surprising and delighting visitors with nightly screeching vocalizations.
• The Netherlands: We are grateful for the good news from Amsterdam’s ARTIS Zoo, whose veterinary team successfully replaced a broken beak on an endangered southern male hornbill with 3-D printing technology, making plastic prosthetic parts and surgically attaching them using screws and titanium components. Hours after the surgery, the bird used his new beak and fed himself. The team said he “smiled.”

Hear our songs, prayers, and petitions as they arise to you, O God. We cry out to you on behalf of the many people groups and creatures of this world. Replace human injustice and cruelty with just outcomes and acts of mercy. Show us our part in affecting healing and wholeness in this world you created and love. Amen.