Prayers for Africa

Farmers in West Africa walking flooded fields, looking for salvageable stems: images like this shape how the continent is prayed for here. The prayers hold communities enduring climate extremes and places where water is scarce or polluted, and they name the injustice that a continent home to so many of the world's poorest bears little responsibility for the warming.

Wonder and Grief: The Total Eclipse, Colombia’s Earthquake, and Journalists of Courage (August 13, 2026)

Lover of the sky, painted with pink and gold streaks, with billowy clouds that invite us to rest, we praise you for the beauty that you gift us each day. We ask your forgiveness for our lack of attention. Thank you for offering us the extraordinary event of a total eclipse in Greenland, Spain, and […]

Unless You Become Like Children: Prayers for the World’s Children, from Gaza to Texas (June 25, 2026)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child […]

Toward Palm Sunday: Prayers for Nations at War, Flooding in Hawaii, and Those Facing Antisemitism (March 26, 2026)

Lord of mercy and Father of all good, As we walk the quiet road toward Palm Sunday, steady our hearts in the rhythm of Your grace. In these Lenten days, where reflection meets longing, teach us to lay down not only palm branches, but the burdens we clutch so tightly— our pride, our fear, our […]

We Pray for Peace: A Prayer for Iran, Israel, the United States, and Every Nation Drawn Into War (March 12, 2026)

We come before You with heavy hearts as war spreads and many lives are shaken. Many of David’s psalms called out to the Lord for protection, strength and victory against his enemies – we pray for divine peaceful intervention during this conflict. David trusted God and called upon the Lord to defend and scatter foes. […]

Repairers of the Breach: A Prayer for Every Continent, from Africa to Antarctica (February 5, 2026)

Editor’s note: This may not be ‘the usual’ but it most definitely IS World in Prayer -including us all. The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of […]

Light to the Deepest Gloom: Prayers After the Kamchatka Earthquake and Tsunami (July 31, 2025)

“But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His … He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; He brings light to the deepest gloom.” Job 12:13-22  We come together from diverse traditions—Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Indigenous, and more—to hold this moment in sacred care. For those affected by natural disasters Merciful […]

Co-Guardians of a Fragile Planet: A Prayer in the Season of Creation for Floods, Drought, and Hunger (September 26, 2024)

“Prayer is nothing else than a sense of God’s presence.” ~ Brother Laurence (lay brother, Paris, France 1614-1691) “Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God.” ~ Mother Theresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) “We have to pray with our eyes on God and not on the difficulties.” ~ Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) “I (Jesus) tell you, […]

This Is My Song: Prayers for Typhoon Gaemi, Global Hunger and New Zealand’s Abuse Inquiry (July 25, 2024)

World in Prayer is seeking a few more volunteers to join our team! Each week, one writer compiles the news and crafts the accompanying prayers. The week’s editor checks the prayers for accuracy and coherence, then posts them on our website. Team members generally serve approximately once every 4-6 weeks. Requirements: an interest in international […]

For Childhood Lost: Prayers for Children in DR Congo, Gaza, Ukraine and Forced Labor (July 4, 2024)

Holy one of fire and transformation, O lord, upon us is the unfolding travesty begun more than fifty years ago with the U.S. intervention and destabilization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The news today reports of the world’s largest humanitarian crises as fighting and defending the mineral extraction industry in the east by […]

We Have Inherited a Garden: A Prayer for Climate Action and Our Common Home (October 5, 2023)

Future generations will never forgive us if we miss the opportunity to protect our common home. We have inherited a garden; we must not leave a desert for our children. (This quote is lifted from a joint appeal signed at the Vatican October 4 , 2023 – the feast of St. Francis of Assisi and […]