Prayers for Canada

Winter storms, wildfires and floods gather much of what is prayed for Canada, along with the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the continuing relationship with First Nations. Trade tension, illness and the cost of living are named as well, with thanks for conservation, discovery and quiet innovation.

Kindle a Flame to Lighten the Dark: Prayers for Hurricane Dorian, Yemen, and Refugees (September 5, 2019)

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away. ~ John L Bell and Graham Maule* When nations are being riven by fear, lies, lack of trust in political, business and so many seeming to seek leadership positions for their own aggrandisement rather than the common good: Kindle a flame to lighten […]

Ask the Animals and They Will Teach You: A Prayer for a Dying Glacier and Children in Detention (August 22, 2019)

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? […]

I Am About to Do a New Thing: A Prayer in a Time of Fear and Change (April 4, 2019)

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing…” ~ Isaiah 43: 18 – 19a. (NIV) “For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness […]

Safe in the Shadow of the Lord: A Prayer on Cheap Goods, Fake News, and Religious Persecution (March 7, 2019)

“Safe in the shadow of the Lord beneath His hand and power, I trust in Him, 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 […]

Leaves for the Healing of the Nations: Prayers After the Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting (November 1, 2018)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the […]

God of Tender Souls Clinging: Prayers for the Kerala Floods, Besieged Ghazni, and Wildfires (August 23, 2018)

God of compassion God of green earth and snow God of darkness And illumination God of new things And of things torn apart God of waters and maker of dry land God of tender souls clinging God in this moment and across all sunrises and the universe Help us to understand our place in this […]

On God Alone I Wait Silently: Prayers for Wildfires, Water Shortages and Refugees (August 2, 2018)

On God alone I wait silently; God my deliverer, God my strong tower. Paraphrase from Ps. 62, John L. Bell* When all efforts have been made to cope with natural disasters: the earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia; the wildfires in California, USA, Sweden, Siberia, Russian Federation, Greece, water shortages in Yemen, the UK, Syria, Kenya; On God alone I wait silently; God my deliverer, God […]

A More Perfect Union: Prayers for the Thai Cave Boys, the Capital Gazette and Refugees (July 5, 2018)

This week’s prayers are adapted, with permission, from a prayer written for U.S. Independence Day 2018 by Leslie Barnes Scoopmire. (Inspired by the Preamble to the United States Constitution) In peace, we pray to You, Lord, God: from our rising to our resting we give You thanks and praise for all your blessings. We give […]

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear: A Toronto Officer, a Hyderabad Priest and a Montgomery Memorial (April 26, 2018)

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” ~ 1 John 4:7 “Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love […]

Be Thou My Vision: Prayers for the Nepal Plane Crash, the Skripal Poisoning, and Parkland Walkouts (March 15, 2018)

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that thou art: Thou my best thought both by day and by night, Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. (Irish Traditional, Tune SLANE) O Light of the World, we stumble around in the darkness of this world which […]