World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for Sudan

Civil war shapes most of what is prayed for Sudan, with famine, displacement and aid that struggles to arrive. Drought, floods and a landslide in the west are named, as are refugees who found little safety in neighboring countries. Thanksgiving is given for humanitarian organizations and for those who fund their work.

Father, Forgive Them: A Prayer After the First Week of a New US Administration (January 26, 2017)

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” – Jesus, spoken as he was being crucified (Luke 23:34) For almost 17 years, World In Prayer has been posting prayers based on international news, trying to say and show that every human being, in every country, is beloved by God. Trying to find the […]

Risen One, You Are Here: Prayers for the Chibok Girls, Child Soldiers, and Attawapiskat (April 14, 2016)

“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” –Luke 24:15-16 Risen one, you are here. Here, as we look at the video released this week by the Boko Haram group in Nigeria, that appears to show some of the 276 girls […]

My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me: A Good Friday Prayer After the Brussels Bombings (March 24, 2016)

The weight of pain, brokenness, despair and grief is profound after yet more bombings and killings in Brussels, Belgium, the almost obscenely routine massacres in Syria, Iraq, Sudan, the murders and kidnaps in Columbia, Mexico, the corruption and destruction of trust and order in too many countries to name on most continents of our shared, […]

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: […]

For the Healing of the Nations: A Prayer for the Children of Syria (July 31, 2014)

Is anything too hard for the Lord?  Genesis 18:14 Healing of the nations.  I watched a documentary on BBC TV called “The Children of Syria,” which followed children for several months from all sides in the war. Watching them parrot the hate for their former friends as taught them by their adult family and community […]

Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord: A Prayer for Meriam Ibrahim (June 26, 2014)

“I will create a pathway in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 Beloved Holy One, Amidst the muted roar of nighttime and early morning traffic on highways, the stench of diesel and gasoline, the noise of human living, You are here. YOU ARE. Praise be! Whatever our situation – in town, village, […]

There Is a Balm in Gilead: A Prayer for Farzana Parveen and the Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls (May 29, 2014)

Go up to Gilead and take balm. — Jeremiah 46:11 “There is a Balm in Gilead” – American Spiritual There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin sick soul. Some times I feel discouraged, And think my work’s in vain, But then […]

All Shall Be Well: A Prayer with Julian of Norwich for Refugees, the Chibok Girls, and Mothers (May 8, 2014)

This week in the liturgical churches, we commemorate the death of Saint Julian of Norwich and her “Revelations of Divine Love”, the first known book in the English language written by a woman. And Sunday is sometimes called “Good Shepherd Sunday”, reminding us of God’s unbounded providence and grace. In the United States, it is […]