“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 God of Advent, The words of Isaiah come to us spoken over 2,300 years ago. They arrive in Christmas cards […]
Prayers for the Philippines
The Philippines is prayed for here through typhoon seasons that grow fiercer each year, a ferry sinking that took eighteen lives from among more than three hundred aboard, a school shooting, and evacuations across Southeast Asia. Young Filipinos campaigning to save the dugongs of Sarangani Bay are given thanks for.
The Dashing of Hopes: Prayers for Iraq, Failed Reforestation, and Wildfires in New Mexico (May 5, 2022)
Lord, where do we begin? We want to talk about the dashing of hopes, the failure of inspiration, the death of expectation. Afghanistan has fallen out of our consciousness as Ukraine falls into our attention, and now there is what’s happening in Iraq, as army and separatists clash and thousands flee. Monoculture (rubber trees) has […]
Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen: Prayers for Shanghai’s Lockdown and Besieged Mariupol (April 21, 2022)
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:28, 29 Eternal God, three in one and one in three; We give thanks for the countless faithful believers who, down […]
You Make All Things New: An Epiphany Prayer for Kazakhstan, the Philadelphia Fire, and Colorado (January 6, 2022)
As we continue to ground ourselves in the new year, we celebrate(d) Epiphany on January 6. We remember the legacy of the Magi, who disobeyed the unethical and immoral orders of King Herod and pray that they may show us a way forward with more justice. We celebrate the day Jesus’ physical manifestation was made […]
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 […]
How Shall I Pray Today: Prayers for Drought and Floods, Afghanistan’s Girls, and David Amess (October 21, 2021)
How shall I pray, today, Lord? So many topics, situations, peoples, needs, joys, and problems all clamoring for attention and my thoughts are whirling and screaming. Calm us, Lord, as you calmed the storm on Galilee for your disciples. “The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live […]
Give Us Eyes to See: Prayers for Journalists Under Threat, the Darien Gap, and Las Vegas (October 7, 2021)
Holy One, Help us in our struggle of claiming to know when we do not know, of disrespecting others wellbeing and thinking we do not share the same world, drive down the same streets, share the harvest, hospital beds and soldier against disasters and pandemics. Help each of us to follow Christ’s path of compassion. […]
Wake the Sleepers: Prayers for Canada’s Unmarked Graves, Tigray, and a Building Collapse (June 24, 2021)
Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. –Concluding Prayer for Compline, from The Book of Common Prayer “When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, […]
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 […]
Stick with Love: Prayers for Myanmar, US Prisons, and the Philippines (February 18, 2021)
I have decided to stick with love… Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King Oh Lord, your house is built with understanding and compassion – it is our quiet center. If only we could grasp its power. In small agitations and overwhelming calamities, during times of lament and great injustices help […]