Prayers for France

Attacks and their aftermath, heatwaves, floods and storms, strikes and protest, and unsettled elections all appear in the prayers for France. Refugees and children at the Calais camp are remembered, along with justice for those harmed by people in trusted positions, and thanks is given for the climate agreement signed in Paris.

Do You Believe This: Prayers for Christian Unity, Gaza, the Uyghurs and a Warming World (January 23, 2025)

Writer’s Note: Every year, the northern hemisphere recognizes a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity between 18 January and 25 January. This focus on Christian unity recognizes Jesus’ prayer in John chapter 17 that the church “may all be one … so that the world may believe.” For 2025, Christians around the world were encouraged […]

Always We Begin Again: Prayers After the Jeju Air Crash, New Orleans, and Jimmy Carter’s Death (January 2, 2025)

Always We Begin Again “The first rule is simply this; live this life and do whatever is done, in a spirit of Thanksgiving. Abandon attempts to achieve security, they are futile, give up the search for wealth, it is demeaning, quit the search for salvation, it is selfish, and come to comfortable rest in the […]

Violence Breeds Violence: A Prayer After the Trump Rally Shooting and Attacks on Candidates (July 18, 2024)

Recent days remind us of the strong grip of political violence in our world. The words from a speech on this topic of 1968’s United States Presidential candidate and assassination victim Robert Kennedy ring true. In Ecuador, five people have been imprisoned this month for their roles in last August’s assassination of presidential candidate Fernando […]

Prayers for World Leaders: France in Limbo, Kenya’s Cabinet, and the UK Election (July 11, 2024)

God of power and might, we pray you intervene in the hearts and minds of world leaders. We see the turmoil playing out at the highest levels of government of so many countries. The election in France has left the country in limbo, with three blocs short of aa majority and no new government in sight […]

The Largest Election Year in History: Prayers for Voters in Iran, France, Rwanda and Venezuela (June 27, 2024)

Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine […]

For a Leader: Blessings for Claudia Sheinbaum, Robert Fico, Pope Francis and LGBTQ Leaders (June 6, 2024)

You, most beloved God, are the leader of all that ever was and all that will ever be. You are a witness to the beauty that comes from a thoughtful leader and the violence and unrest that is born from an unhealthy leader. We seek your wisdom, your patience, your tenderness. Using excerpts from John […]

Consecrating Our Chaos: A Prayer for Religious and Spiritual Leaders Around the World (April 18, 2024)

“When you take on the confusion and the violence and you refine them, purify them into something new, you are doing what in the vocabulary of faith we call consecrating your chaos. To consecrate is to make holy, to put it into service for good. In consecrating chaos, you engage it, tame it, name it, […]

Bless the Lord, O My Soul: A Prayer for a Weary World From Gaza to Haiti (March 7, 2024)

Psalm 85:11-12 Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven. “Bless the Lord oh my soul… Oh my soul Worship his holy name Sing like never before Oh my soul I’ll worship your holy name.” Holy One to whom I raise […]

In the Midst of Chaos, I Will Be Peace: A Prayer as the Gaza Ceasefire Breaks Down (November 30, 2023)

Editor: Shortly after the prayers were posted, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke down. In light of this, as duty editor, I have amended and re-posted our prayers.In the midst of chaos, I will be peace. In the heart of anger, I will be love. In the presence of despair, I will be hope. […]

God of Our Longings: Prayers for Gaza, Ukraine, Migrant Caravans, and Nepal’s Earthquakes (November 9, 2023)

God of our Longings, The German root of longing, langen, is ‘reach, extend.’ We reach and extend our hands and hearts to You. We reach and extend our hands and hearts to each other as we see so much that is broken and longing to be made whole again. We long for deep and lasting […]