World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for Syria

Syria appears here mainly through the long war and its displacement, with families scattered into neighboring countries and beyond, health care and shelter in short supply, and religious minorities among those held in prayer. Chemical weapons, ceasefire talks and repeated negotiations are named plainly, along with thanks for those who help.

Who Is So Hurt I May Not Know Their Heartache: After the California Oil Spill (May 21, 2015)

“Who is so hurt I may not know their heartache?” asks the old hymn I Would Be True. We pray today for the heartbreak of the world. For the heartbreak of those who struggle with over 100 thousand gallons of oil poured from a broken pipeline…who struggle with the devastating effects on one of the […]

Love One Another: Prayers After the Pakistan Helicopter Crash and Oklahoma Tornadoes (May 8, 2015)

Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” God of Love and Light and Life, God of All Time and No Time, sometimes the demands of everyday life just overtake us and we forget, we lose track, we neglect those things to which we have committed ourselves- […]

Prayer Tree: After the Nepal Earthquake, the Baltimore Riots, and Chile’s Calbuco Volcano (April 30, 2015)

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12: 12   I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. -1 Cor 14: 14 – 16   Pray continually – 1 Thessalonians […]

We Live in the In-Between Times: An Easter Prayer After Garissa and for a Thirsty Planet (April 3, 2015)

It is the in-between time. At my church, we have just ended the Maundy Thursday service, remembered Jesus’ institution of the first Eucharist, been commanded to love as he loves us, washed one another’s feet, then stripped the altar. Tonight, Jesus will spend in agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we, his disciples, will try […]

For God So Loved the World: A Lenten Prayer of Wonder and Hope (March 12, 2015)

 World News in Prayer for March 12, 2015   For God so loved the world… Gracious and holy one, God of all creation, God of all people everywhere, it is so easy, as we journey through this season of Lent, to get lost in the wilderness of pain and sorrow we see in the world […]

Love the Least of These: Prayers for Migrants Drowned Off Libya and for Chapel Hill (February 12, 2015)

As we prepare ourselves for the holy season of Lent, let us reflect in prayer on the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: that when we love the least of these, we love you, Lord. Help us to love the least of these in prison. We pray for prisoners throughout the world. We pray that […]

Light in the Darkness: A Prayer After the Charlie Hebdo Attack (January 8, 2015)

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30 The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2 Lord, when will You tear the heavens apart to make Your will known and show Your might?   Yes, I […]

Trusting in Your Power and Grace: Prayers for Ebola’s Orphans, the Nepal Avalanches, and Kobane (October 16, 2014)

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”    –Matthew 22:22 NRSV God of majesty, your glory and wonder fills all of creation. In all corners of your world, beauty, truth and wonder abound. Sadly, there are times when we seem to forget that you, and you alone, are the great Creator […]

Let There Be Light: Prayers on Secret Trade Deals and Mexico’s Disappeared (October 9, 2014)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines […]