Prayers for Ukraine

Much of what is gathered for Ukraine concerns war: the unrest and occupation that came first, the wider invasion that followed, and the families displaced into Poland and other countries. Elections, freedom of speech and the grain harvest also appear, along with prayers for medical workers and for ceasefires that have not yet held.

This Blessing Calls You Home: A Christmas Blessing and Prayer for Every Nation on Earth (December 22, 2022)

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING by Christine Valters Paintner online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com Reproduced with permission This blessing dances at the doorway of light and dark, knows both as sacred: fertile womb space, miracle of blooming. This blessing breathes through those moments of labor when you too birth the holy into this fragile, luminous, hurting world as Mary […]

Somewhere, Right Now: Prayers for Kyiv, Refugees in Poland, and Famine in Somalia (December 8, 2022)

Ancient of Days, Somewhere in Kiev, Ukraine, a man plays his guitar with his old, faithful pup howling along, even though they sing in darkness. Somewhere in Krakow, Poland, a grandmother folds shirts, presses trousers, routines to calm her anxious heart, even as the unexpected guests in their small home yearn to return to their […]

Right Now: Prayers After the US Midterms and for Iran’s Protesters (November 10, 2022)

Divine Presence, right now, those living in the United States are in the exhausted wake of post-election frenzy. Rejoicing at wins and deflated by losses, enable us to regroup to continue the relentless work of securing freedom and justice for all. Stem the growth of white supremacy and hate crimes and transform the hearts of […]

Lord of the Dance: After the Seoul Crowd Crush and Uganda’s Ebola Outbreak (November 3, 2022)

Sandhill cranes dancing at sunset at Staten Island Rd. Preserve, Northern California. Photo art by a member of the World in Prayer team. Dance, then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he. –Sydney […]

A Prayer for Disarmament Week: Nuclear Threats, North Korean Missiles, and the West Bank (October 27, 2022)

God of peace, we gather as a community of seekers from every corner of the world during this annual United Nations Disarmament Week. Our world is threatened by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and small arms. For the Ukrainians threatened by the nuclear saber rattling of Russian leadership; For the conversion of the minds and […]

We Bring Our Hearts’ Cries to You: Prayers for Ukraine, Turkey’s Mine Explosion, and Uganda’s Ebola (October 20, 2022)

Dearest Creator of all that is and ever will be. Guardian of Light. Giver of Breath. Judge of all deeds, seen and unseen. Infuse us with your love, gratitude, and peace. Let us feel safe in a world thriving in chaos and fear. Help us to raise our children without prejudice. Teach us to teach […]

Grief and Hope: A Prayer After the Thailand School Shooting and the Kabul Bombing (October 13, 2022)

We long to become disciples of silence and hear in that shimmery soundlessness the voice of the One who whispers in stillness, whose singing vibrates in stones, who out of the silence calls forth a radical commitment of which we do not yet know the shape. – Christine Valters Paintner We pray to the One […]

The Chaos Before Creation: A Prayer for Iran’s Protests and Hurricane Ian (September 29, 2022)

Holy One, We feel the chaos before creation in the very core of our being. The changing tides – first swelling with hope then sliding toward despair. Waves of grief crash over us, shaking the foundations of our lives. We are buoyed with anticipation excited by what the future holds. Our focus is drawn inward to […]

The Lord’s Prayer for a Hurting World: Violence Against Women, Floods, and Global Drought (September 22, 2022)

Writer’s note: I have no idea where this version of the Lord’s Prayer came from, so I apologise for not giving credit where credit is due. I know I’ve amended it over the years, but it is something that draws me back time and again. So I am using it as a framework for this […]

Discouragement and Hope: After the James Smith Cree Nation Killings and Queen Elizabeth II (September 15, 2022)

Divine One, as we look out upon your world and ours, it is so easy to see things which discourage and dismay us… The deaths last week on the James Smith Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, with ten murdered, eighteen critically wounded and both perpetrators losing their lives. The on-going devastating results of climate […]