World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for South Africa

Corruption cases, contested elections, and the transitions of political power are steady concerns in these prayers for South Africa, as are drought, flooding, and xenophobic violence. Nelson Mandela is mourned here, and thanks is given for schools that welcome, truces kept, and communities that feed one another.

Hopeful in the Midst of Grief: Prayers for Canada’s Wildfires, Mothers in Gaza, and Pride (June 5, 2025)

Loving God, We come before you today, in a world which feels torn apart. Our natural environment feels hopeless right now as thousands across Northern and Western Canada are fleeing due to forest fires. And as Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.A. faces wildfires and hydrothermal explosions as well as nearby earthquakes. In the midst […]

Come, Risen One: Prayers for Kinshasa’s Floods, Kenya’s Assassination, and a World in Upheaval (May 1, 2025)

I am about to create new heavens       and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered       or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever       in what I am creating… – Isaiah 65:17-18 Behold the newness of the season – the flowers bursting […]

A Song of Peace: Prayers for Greenland, Venezuela, and Gaza with Dag Hammarskjold (March 27, 2025)

The author of this week’s prayer writes, “Last week, our church hosted clergy from India, Holland, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic for an international meeting.  I welcomed them with a sign listing their names and unsorted flags and invited observers to connect the national flag to each name.  When some nations appear to want to […]

Be Still and Know: A Prayer for the Gaza Ceasefire, California Fires and a World in Whirl (January 16, 2025)

Writer’s note: Unexpectedly, I am to write this week, with my mind in a whirl of clamoring news and imminent events. If the eminent theologian, Rowan Williams, uses the prayer method of ‘I turn up, and shut up’, it will more than suffice for my need and hopefully yours. Let us journey together under the […]

May Growth Be Our Hope: Prayers for Floods in Brazil and Kenya and a Collapse in South Africa (May 9, 2024)

God of our lives, How we long for our world and our hearts to grow: To grow in faith, understanding, and questions.  To grow in our hope for a better world.  To grow further and wider instead of apart.  To grow our lives together.  To grow in love for each other.  May growth be our […]

Love Your Enemies: A Prayer in Genocidal Times for Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan, and Afghanistan (April 11, 2024)

‘To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person.’ ~ Luke 6:27-28 The Message ‘We are not easily reduced to prayer’ – […]

The Thinnest Silence: A Prayer About Listening for the Voice of God (September 28, 2023)

Holy One, Divine Creator, whom some name God, we pray every week for so many things: for those suffering from effects of climate change and the earthquakes, the hurricanes, the super droughts, super fires, and the super floods; for children and women abused and sold and trafficked even in our modern era of development; for […]

Thanksgivings, Concerns, and Celebrations: Prayers for Ukraine, Kenya, and a World in Heat (July 20, 2023)

Mother God, we come to you with thanksgivings. We are grateful to be loved by You. We are grateful for hands to hold, for kindness, and for grace. We are grateful for sunshine, rain, and rainbows. We are grateful for the farmers and laborers who give us our daily bread. We are grateful for forgiveness. […]

Your Creation Is Groaning: Prayers After the Uganda School Attack and Record Heat (June 22, 2023)

Your creation is groaning, Living and Loving God. Your creation is groaning as your created ones continue to live in ways that damage the natural world and one another. Your creation is groaning, and so we turn to you with our cries of pain, certain we will be heard. We cry out today for the […]