Prayers for Gaza

Death and famine that will not end, medical needs that go unmet, and a people living beside a barrier that cuts their land in two: this is what the prayers here carry. They also ask, again and again, for the day when walls give way to open roads.

O Great Guide, Light a Way Forward: Prayers for Gaza, Ukraine, and Congo (December 14, 2023)

O Great Guide, who led shepherds and kings by the light of a star, when we feel most lost, we pray you light a way forward. We are bombarded with news of war and death, like bombs blasting open our hearts. We pray for all areas around the globe that are experiencing war, including: Israel […]

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. […]

I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food: A Matthew 25 Prayer for the Least of These (November 23, 2023)

During a week when many ponder the end of the liturgical year and may follow the lectionary reading from Matthew 25: 31-46, “Judgement of the Nations,” we pray: For I was hungry and you gave me food. . . The world mourns the loss of United States humanitarian and political organizer Rev. Arthur Simon, founder […]

A Prayer Is Not a News Bulletin: Praying for Peace in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, and Yemen (November 16, 2023)

Dear God, A prayer is not a news bulletin, a donation request, telegram, text message, or a voice message. One could suppose that each could contain elements of a prayer, but they seem quite secular and every day. How do we ask you to bring your peace that passes all understanding among us in these […]

For the Souls of the Departed: An All Souls Prayer After Gaza, Avdiivka, and Kerala (November 2, 2023)

Merciful One, it is not for us to judge those who have died. Rather, we come to you with the assurance of your great compassion. We unite with these wounded brothers and sisters of ours and believe that you draw all to your forgiving heart. May the love we bear be encouragement for all souls […]

Imagine Transformation: Prayers for Mali’s Coup, Gaza, and the Kamloops Children (June 3, 2021)

With all the pain, violence, and sorrow that we see and experience, how is it possible to not grow hard? Some days it seems nearly impossible to see compassion and hope at work in the world. In times like these, we can send compassion and hope out into the world. Loving God, we come to […]

How Long, O Lord: Prayers for Migrant Children, the Gaza Ceasefire, and Nyiragongo (May 27, 2021)

Listen, Lord, as I pray! You are faithful and honest and will answer my prayer. (Ps. 143:1*) We pray for the unaccompanied children still arriving at the Mexico – USA border. We thought the situation was easing as fewer children arrived. Now we realize that children are afraid of the conditions in the holding centers […]

Peace Like an Unpredictable Flower: Prayers for Gaza, India’s COVID Crisis, and Kabul (May 20, 2021)

A note to our email subscribers: If you are getting this prayer for a second time, it means the problem preventing our email service from “grabbing” the current prayer from our website is, in fact, finally fixed! (We’ve been fighting a massive malware invasion, which caused last week’s edition to email twice, and had been […]

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 […]

Lord, Rend the Heavens and Answer: Prayers for Gaza, Indonesia’s Disasters, and Syria’s Camps (January 21, 2021)

This opening Litany of Praise is from the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity 2021 taken from the ecumenical service published by CTBI prepared by the The Monastic Community of Grandchamp. Switzerland. Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you! Reader 1: We sing your praise in the midst […]