God of the seasons, we thank you for summer. You surround us with evidence of revival, eternal life, abundance, resurrection in every field, every garden, every flower bed, every forest, every vacation spot and swimming hole. The discovery in Nepal of a tiny but flourishing colony of birds – red-faced liocichla – thought to have been […]
Prayers for the United Kingdom
Politics and public life fill much of what is prayed for the United Kingdom: elections, Parliament, division and distrust, and households under economic strain. Extreme weather, illness and racism appear too, and there is thanksgiving for climate commitments, for acts of solidarity, and for art and conservation.
Lord, Have Mercy: Prayers for Libya, Syria, Nauru’s Detained Refugees, and the Legacy of Jo Cox (June 23, 2016)
Violent protests, burning and looting in Pretoria, South Africa, over mayoral election… Foreign supporters of ISIS have taken over Sirte, Libya, murdering, torturing, crucifying Muslims and Christians… Russian fighters are dropping cluster bombs in Syria, indiscriminately endangering and killing civilians and children as well as fighters… Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Violence and hatred […]
Never Think We Do Not Care: A Prayer After the Orlando Nightclub Shooting and the Death of Jo Cox (June 17, 2016)
Prayers in response to Orlando, Florida, US – where a gunman shot and killed 49, with 53 more injured, at a gay nightclub, before he himself was killed Mosul, Iraq – after 19 Yazidi girls were burnt alive by their Islamic State captors, in front of a crowd of hundreds, for refusing to have sex […]
Lord, Hear Our Prayer: For EgyptAir Flight MS804, Sri Lanka’s Landslides, and Venezuela’s Hunger (May 19, 2016)
Heavenly Father, we come to you with open but hurt hearts with this week’s news. May the Holy Spirit fill us with strength and compassion towards our neighbors, near and far. We pray for the millions of students who celebrate their graduations. May their learning enrich our world. Lord, hear our prayer. We pray for […]
Love One Another: Prayers for Fort McMurray’s Wildfire Evacuees and Refugees Held on Nauru (May 5, 2016)
“You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.” -St Augustine of Hippo in ‘Confessions’ “(Humans) are the ultimate paradox: the finite made for the infinite.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu in ‘God has a Dream – a vision of […]
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Prayers for Syrian Refugees Lost at Sea and for Flint’s Water (April 21, 2016)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… Revelation 21:1 There are days and times, Holy God, when our wish for a new earth is almost overwhelming; days and times when, as we look around this old earth, we can see only […]
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, […]
Act With Justice, Love Mercy: Prayers After the Sanaa Mosque Bombing and the Sumatra Fires (September 24, 2015)
“Now Israel, what does the LORD your God desire from you? Only this: fear him, walk in all his ways, love him, serve him with all your heart and in all your life. Deuteronomy 10: 12 (NIV) The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You […]
Made in the Image of God: A Prayer Against Hatred of the Other and for Those Who Welcome Refugees (July 23, 2015)
Do we believe we are made in the image of God, or is our God made in our very finite image?” –Rhoda C. Martin “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working […]
How Long, O Lord: Prayers After the Kuwait Mosque and Tunisia Beach Attacks (July 2, 2015)
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light […]