World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for China

Weather and disaster recur in the prayers for China: typhoons, floods, dust storms and record heat, as well as building collapses. Human rights, the treatment of Uyghur Muslims, protest in Hong Kong, trade tension and the pandemic years are also named, alongside thanks for panda sanctuaries and tree planting.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Lament: Mars Rovers, Madagascar’s Famine, and Haiti (August 26, 2021)

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. (Psalm 24:1) Holy One, you have created a magnificent universe. We raise up prayers of thanksgiving for your manifold blessings. Especially we […]

Bread of Life: Prayers for Simone Biles, Climate Disasters, and Conflict in Tigray (July 29, 2021)

O Christ, you once said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) Today we yearn for your abundant life. We hunger for the bread of heaven to sustain us on our journey to find you. Reveal yourself […]

Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying: Floods in Germany and China, and Wildfires (July 22, 2021)

Lord, listen to your children praying, Lord, send your Spirit in this place; Lord, listen to your children praying, send us love, send us pow’r, send us grace.                              Text and music- Ken Medema God of all creation, God who calls us each and all by name, hear our prayers of anguish, of contrition, of […]

Shield Us in Every Need: Prayers for Cyprus Wildfires, Haiti, and a Condo Collapse (July 8, 2021)

In name of the Holy Spirit of grace, In name of the Father of the City of Peace, In name of Jesus who takes death off us, Oh, in name of the Three who shield us in every need, If well you have found us tonight, Seven times better may you leave us without harm, […]

Wake the Sleepers: Prayers for Canada’s Unmarked Graves, Tigray, and a Building Collapse (June 24, 2021)

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. –Concluding Prayer for Compline, from The Book of Common Prayer “When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, […]

Lord Have Mercy: Prayers for Jerusalem and Gaza, Kabul’s Schoolgirls, and Kazan (May 13, 2021)

Dear Lord, Outside my door it is spring. Winter snows cling to the mountains under a clear blue sky and there is a buzzing among the flowers of the over wintered kale. Here in the US we have celebrated Mother’s Day with the flower markets lighthearted and busy. Our celebrations seem short-lived amidst a pandemic […]

Father Earth and Mother Sky: Prayers for Indianapolis, Tigray, and India’s Oxygen Crisis (April 29, 2021)

Oh God, Our Father Earth and Mother Earth, Help us to center our hearts, our thoughts, our yearnings, to let go of past wrongs and uncertain futures, to let the air out and take a simple breath in – here in the present of your eternal time. We acknowledge the lands of our ancestors. We […]

We Long to Hide: Prayers After the Atlanta and Boulder Shootings and for Myanmar (March 25, 2021)

Dear God, You know that we sometimes long to hide.  We long to hide from the things which make our world and communities profoundly suffer.  We long to hide from the people who hurt us and those we care about.  We wish we could hide from the mounting demands from our jobs, school, and the […]

Lessons from Cranes and Geese: El Salvador’s Election, Afghanistan, and Migrants (March 4, 2021)

As most of you know, World in Prayer is written by a team whose members take turns writing the prayers. And I, who am writing this week – I ran out of words a long time ago. Trapped in what seemed like near-isolation by the pandemic; anguished by its resulting ever-growing number of deaths and […]