Prayers for Pakistan

Prayers here have followed Pakistan through monsoon flooding and shortages of clean water, conflict along the Afghan border and the Kashmir frontier, and the persecution of religious minorities. Elections held under tension are named as well, alongside thanks for those who work for education, relief and peace.

Lord, Have Mercy: Prayers for Libya, Syria, Nauru’s Detained Refugees, and the Legacy of Jo Cox (June 23, 2016)

Violent protests, burning and looting in Pretoria, South Africa, over mayoral election… Foreign supporters of ISIS have taken over Sirte, Libya, murdering, torturing, crucifying Muslims and Christians… Russian fighters are dropping cluster bombs in Syria, indiscriminately endangering and killing civilians and children as well as fighters… Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Violence and hatred […]

We, Easter People, Pray: For Guantanamo, Libya’s Rival Governments, and Pakistan’s Christians (March 31, 2016)

Lord, in the strength of grace With a glad heart and free … Charles Wesley Today, in the grace of being Easter people, we pray for those who are supported by your grace alone in the turmoil and oppression of war, terror, famine, drought, prejudice, bigotry. We pray for all in Guantanamo Bay military prison […]

God, Forgive Me for Good Friday: An Easter Prayer After the Lahore Park Bombing (March 27, 2016)

Today, it is Easter. Today, this day, every day, Christ is risen, the world is made new, and we celebrate God’s triumph over evil and death. Today, at least 60 people were killed and many more injured–most of them women and children–in an apparent suicide bombing at a park in Lahore, Pakistan. Today, remembering that the […]

The Very Stones Would Shout Out: A Palm Sunday Prayer for Syria, South Sudan, and Silenced Voices (March 18, 2016)

Today we begin Holy Week, walking the Via Dolorosa with Jesus of Nazareth…sitting at the table at the Last Supper, watching and waiting in Gethsemane’s garden, seeing with horror and dread the arrest and torture and trials, and finally, weeping at the foot of the cross. But today, Gracious God, we begin with his arrival […]

Do Not Be Afraid: A Prayer After the Paris Attacks, for Refugees and a Fearful World (November 19, 2015)

Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering. – Parker Palmer Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. – Hebrews 13:2 “Do not be afraid,” the messenger from God said to Mary. “Do not be afraid,” the messenger […]

There Is Nowhere God Is Not: Prayers After the Sinai Plane Crash and the Afghanistan Earthquake (November 5, 2015)

God of love, God of inclusion, God of justice and peace, we come to you with hearts heavy with the things that are happening in our world over which we have no control. Lack of control is scary, feels threatening. And yet, even in the midst of our confusion and frustration, there is a truth […]

Let My People Go: A Prayer Naming the Pharaohs That Drive Refugees From Home (September 10, 2015)

Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land. Tell all Pharaohs to, “let My people go.” Oh God, our God, and God of every suffering refugee, we join in prayer to ask for the wisdom and the courage to name the pharaohs that make life intolerable for so many people in the world. We recognize that: […]

Out of the Darkness We Cry to You: Prayers for Palmyra, Lahore, and Western Wildfires (August 27, 2015)

(Thanks to the Evangelical Lutheran Church for some of these prayer petitions.) Out of the darkness we cry to you, O God. Enable us to find in Christ the faith to trust in your care even in the midst of pain. Assure us that we do not walk alone through the valley of the shadow, […]

How Long, O Lord: Prayers After the Kuwait Mosque and Tunisia Beach Attacks (July 2, 2015)

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light […]

Give Us the Patience to Listen: Prayers for Greece, Charleston, and Pakistan’s Heatwave (June 25, 2015)

Lord of the past, present and future, sometimes I have this view of you pushing your hair back, in exasperation, and wondering when will we return to you and listen. Just once in our lives – really listen, then do something. It must be so vexing to you when we do something then complain – […]