Prayers for the United States

Prayers naming the United States have followed storms, tornadoes, wildfires and floods across many states, along with elections and political tension, gun violence, and questions of migration and race. Health, mental health and the well-being of ordinary households appear often, as do thanksgivings for its landscapes and wild places.

Jesus Calmed the Storm: A Prayer for Tornadoes, Floods, Saharan Dust, and Stranded Whales (May 2, 2024)

God of all, my heart is full of wonder, as I consider the mysterious and magnificent ways your spirit and presence are at work in the world. In the beginning your spirit hovered over the churning chaos, and with a word you began to create order, to bring forth life, to create a hope where […]

Glimpses of Beloved Community: Prayers for Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, and DR Congo (April 25, 2024)

Holy God, What a time to be alive. Sometimes we want to cover our eyes and ears because death and destruction have become all too common. Other times, we see glimpses of hope and love. We are in a season of spiritual whiplash and don’t know which way to turn, except to you. Open your […]

Consecrating Our Chaos: A Prayer for Religious and Spiritual Leaders Around the World (April 18, 2024)

“When you take on the confusion and the violence and you refine them, purify them into something new, you are doing what in the vocabulary of faith we call consecrating your chaos. To consecrate is to make holy, to put it into service for good. In consecrating chaos, you engage it, tame it, name it, […]

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’ – […]

Love Lives Again: A Holy Week Prayer After the Moscow Attack and Baltimore Bridge Collapse (March 28, 2024)

God of us all, Love lives again. Love triumphs over the hate, pain, and death. You were there at the very beginning of time and gave us the beauty of this world: gorgeous flowers and trees, oceans, and mountains, galaxies we will never comprehend. Yet, you still knew we needed your love. You gave us […]

The Noise of Politics: A Holy Week Prayer for Elections in Russia, Iran, and El Salvador (March 21, 2024)

As millions of Christians celebrate the Passion of the Lord Jesus this week and embark upon Holy Week and the Triduum, we are reminded of a portion of the prayer, “The Noise of Politics” by Walter Brueggemann in his book Prayers for a Privileged People: We listen beyond jeering protesters and soaring jets and faintly […]

Bless the Lord, O My Soul: A Prayer for a Weary World From Gaza to Haiti (March 7, 2024)

Psalm 85:11-12 Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven. “Bless the Lord oh my soul… Oh my soul Worship his holy name Sing like never before Oh my soul I’ll worship your holy name.” Holy One to whom I raise […]

Help Us to Learn to Love Again: A Prayer in Verse for Iran, Gaza, and the Texas Wildfires (February 29, 2024)

Loving God, Help us to learn to love again, To care as we did way back when. May we care as children do in simple ways. Give us some calm amidst the chaotic days. God, we are in a moment when we need time; We need your presence in order to overcome this climb. We […]

Blessing the Animals: A Prayer of Thanks for Spiders, Bats, Bonobos, and Beloved Pets (February 22, 2024)

You who created them and called them good: Bless again these creatures who come to us as a blessing fashioned of fur or feather or fin, formed of flesh that breathes with your own breath, that you have made from sheer delight, that you have given in dazzling variety. Bless them who curl themselves around […]

The Fasting That I Wish: A Lenten Prayer for Trafficking Victims and the Hungry of Gaza (February 15, 2024)

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. The United States […]