Prayers for India

The prayers that name India range widely: heatwaves and floods, the pandemic years, elections and communal tension, the treatment of women and of Dalit and tribal communities, and the safety of workers. Thanksgivings appear too, for rescues, tree planting and voices calling for interfaith unity.

Let There Be Light: Prayers on Secret Trade Deals and Mexico’s Disappeared (October 9, 2014)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines […]

So Many Treasures Are Hidden: Prayers After MH17 and the Taiwan Plane Crash (July 24, 2014)

So many treasures are hidden Lord: When we gave thanks along with the mother whose 2 sons were saved by the actions of a stranger, Reis Leming, in East Anglia in 1953, we were not to know that one would became a professor in Cambridge, England; the other a professor in MIT. Lord, we […]

Come Down, Come In, Come Among Us: A Prayer for the Marginalized and Flight MH370 (March 20, 2014)

Thursday, March 20th 2014 “If God is your co-pilot, swap seats!” (cartoon) “Purity does not come in separation from but in deeper penetration into the Universe … Bathe yourself in the ocean of matter; plunge into it where it is deepest and most violent; struggle in its currents and drink its water. For […]

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: An Advent Prayer to Set the Captives Free (December 19, 2013)

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. We are still waiting for you. We are waiting for the Prince of Peace. We are waiting for the Wisdom from on high. We are waiting for the King of all nations. O come and set the captives free. Free those who are captive to violence. The people of Syria, […]

Expanding God’s Being: An Advent Prayer for Typhoon Haiyan, UK Storms, and Nelson Mandela (December 5, 2013)

In intercession we, the intercessors, need to know something of the circumstances to kindle our concern. God already knows it all, but it seems in the mystery of humanity where God has given us free will, he will not bypass this and treat us like robots. Our love and concern seem to open the way […]

Positive Delight in a Wonderful World: A Thanksgiving Prayer for the Enslaved and the Attacked (November 28, 2013)

When Jesus said, ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly’ (John 10 : 10), I do not think He was speaking only of spiritual life – I think He meant us to have positive delight in all the good things in this wonderful world which his […]

May Your Footsteps Show: A Prayer for Migrants Lost in the Niger Desert (October 31, 2013)

Creator God, by your word and in your power, you have created us and our world. As we learn more of you, so we come to realize how powerful is your word. In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show. Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me. (John L. Bell […]

Our Father: A Lord’s Prayer for the Navy Yard Shooting, Marikana, and Overcrowded Prisons (September 19, 2013)

Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: –feed the hungry –nourish the poor in spirit –provide clean water –assign meaningful tasks and living wages –sustain our fields and farmers during this […]

Grant Wisdom, Grant Courage: A Prayer for Floods, Wildfires, and Maaloula (September 12, 2013)

Creator God we praise you for the changing of the seasons, for those areas of the Northern hemisphere where harvest is in progress or already complete; for those areas of the Southern hemisphere where the seedtime approaches and happens. The glory of the world wraps around us and we revel in the warmth and sunshine. […]