World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for Iran

Prayers naming Iran hold nuclear negotiations and the tension around them, strikes and fragile ceasefires, and talks that begin and stall. Protest is a recurring theme, particularly the treatment of women and of schoolgirls, along with those imprisoned or censored. Journalists and activists who speak at real cost are honored.

For the Faithful Persecuted: A Pentecost Prayer for Christians in Six Countries (May 25, 2023)

“The happy day has dawned for us on which Holy Church makes her first radiant appearance to the eyes of faith and sets the hearts of believers on fire. It is the day on which we celebrate the sending of the Holy Spirit by our Lord Jesus Christ, after he had risen from the dead […]

Prayers Like Seeds: For Sudan’s Ceasefire, Gang Violence, and Earthquake Survivors (April 27, 2023)

God of Life, These prayers, like seeds that we tuck into the soil of You. We trust You hold them all — our yearning, worry, agonies, hidden longings, and celebrations — in the fertile cocoon of Love. Each winter as we come out of long dark into the time of bud and bloom we marvel […]

Be Not Afraid: An Easter Prayer for Peace Deals and Signs of Hope (April 6, 2023)

Now the green blade rises from the buried grain, Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain: Love lives again, that with the dead has been: Love is come again like wheat arising green. When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain, Your touch can call us back to life again, Fields of […]

We Know You Do Not Look Away: For Turkey, Georgia, and Iran’s Schoolgirls (March 16, 2023)

Mighty God, you are in the wind that moves across the waters, that whispers in the night, that will not be contained. You see more than we can ever see, and you do not look away. We know, That you whisper through the wreckage in Turkey, calling life out of death, directing those who work […]

These Trees Are Prayers: For the Greece Train Crash and Iran’s Schoolgirls (March 2, 2023)

                Silence my soul, these trees are prayers. I asked the tree, “Tell me about God” then it blossomed.  — Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) In the snow-laced woods, the blossoms wait deep in the cold branch. We trust the waiting bloom is there. God we trust in your presence in […]

Creator of the Stars of Night: An Epiphany Prayer for Iran’s Protesters, Migrants, and Mogadishu (January 5, 2023)

Creator of the Stars of Night, On the eve of Epiphany, on the eve of the first full moon of the year, on the eve of the funeral of Pope Benedict, hear my prayer for the tomorrows of our world. The USA needs to elect a speaker of the house so that congress can be […]

This Blessing Calls You Home: A Christmas Blessing and Prayer for Every Nation on Earth (December 22, 2022)

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING by Christine Valters Paintner online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com Reproduced with permission This blessing dances at the doorway of light and dark, knows both as sacred: fertile womb space, miracle of blooming. This blessing breathes through those moments of labor when you too birth the holy into this fragile, luminous, hurting world as Mary […]

Right Now: Prayers After the US Midterms and for Iran’s Protesters (November 10, 2022)

Divine Presence, right now, those living in the United States are in the exhausted wake of post-election frenzy. Rejoicing at wins and deflated by losses, enable us to regroup to continue the relentless work of securing freedom and justice for all. Stem the growth of white supremacy and hate crimes and transform the hearts of […]

Lord of the Dance: After the Seoul Crowd Crush and Uganda’s Ebola Outbreak (November 3, 2022)

Sandhill cranes dancing at sunset at Staten Island Rd. Preserve, Northern California. Photo art by a member of the World in Prayer team. Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he. –Sydney […]

The Chaos Before Creation: A Prayer for Iran’s Protests and Hurricane Ian (September 29, 2022)

Holy One, We feel the chaos before creation in the very core of our being. The changing tides – first swelling with hope  then sliding toward despair. Waves of grief crash over us, shaking the foundations of our lives. We are buoyed with anticipation excited by what the future holds. Our focus is drawn inward to […]