The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. ~ Isaiah 50:4 Lord of all learning and growth, we pray that you would teach us […]
Prayers for Germany
Germany is prayed for here in its welcome of refugees, in demonstrations and attacks on Jewish and immigrant neighbors, and in floods that took many lives in 2021. The fall of the Berlin Wall and changes of chancellor are marked, with thanks for those who counter extremism and for the return of the lynx.
We Breathe Your Peace: A Prayer at the Russia Ukraine Border and for Petropolis (February 17, 2022)
Oh God, you lean into us. We lean into you. A flow of relationship that has no end. We are grateful. We are invited to pray without ceasing. This is not a burden but a freeing gift, an invitation to stay present to our constant dance with you. As we pray in each moment our […]
The Light of Your Presence: Advent Prayers for Kentucky’s Tornadoes, Typhoon Rai, and Haiti (December 16, 2021)
The anticipation is growing, O God. As Christmas draws near, the longing for redemption, for salvation, for the coming of Christ swells within us. Yet, even as the hope, peace, joy, and love grow in anticipation of the birth of Christ, we are reminded of the rugged realities of life. In the midst of our […]
Our Hearts and Hands: Advent Prayers for South Sudan’s Floods, Mount Semeru, and India’s Helicopter Crash (December 9, 2021)
God of love, During this season of Advent, as we wait with anticipation for the coming light of the Christ-child, your Love made flesh in the world, we remember that you are a living God, creating with us anew each and every day. For many of us, this is a season of rededicating ourselves to […]
May Your Kin-dom Come: Prayers for Ecuador’s Prisons, Uganda, and Afghanistan’s Hunger (November 18, 2021)
Our Mother, Father in heaven. Thank you for your Presence within and through us and all that lives. Thank you for teaching us how to pray. Reveal to us who you are. We see you in the wonder of discovery like the bee expert who found 800,000 bees in an ancient British forest. We see […]
Shine Your Light: A Diwali Prayer Against Child Marriage and for COP26 in Glasgow (November 4, 2021)
May these prayers and meditations be received by You, O Lord. Take them and bind them to your will. This is the time of Diwali or Deepawali, a Hindu festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists in the northern hemisphere in the fall. We meditate on the spiritual nature of the victory of […]
Butterfly Prayers: For Haitian Migrants, La Palma’s Volcano, and Afghanistan’s Women (September 30, 2021)
God of limitless love, Thank you for creating us with expansive capacity for love. The heart is a vast landscape. What wonder this is that we can feel so many different emotions, seemingly conflicting, at the same time, that we can love so deeply. Sometimes in the face of all the suffering we see, we confuse love […]
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 […]
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 […]
Come Now, O Prince of Peace: Advent Prayers for Ethiopia, Nigeria, and New Zealand (December 17, 2020)
Come now, O Prince of Peace, make us one body. Come, O Lord Jesus, reconcile your people. – Geonyong Lee (Tune: OSOSO) With heavy hearts, we come to you during this time of waiting, this time of Advent as we prepare for the coming of the One who is God’s incarnated Love. Only this year, […]